The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm, is the leading contender to purchase up to an 80-percent stake in Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, located in China, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to the Journal, Carlyle is likely to pay $300 million to $400 million for the stake. Carlyle has said it plans to invest $1 billion a year in Asia during the next few years. Carlyle currently has more than $18 million under its management. The Xuzhou transaction is expected to close by the middle of next year.
