LANSING, Mich. — MERS of Michigan is proud to announce a new partnership with two global asset managers, the Washington, D.C.‐based Carlyle Group and the Dutch firm AlpInvest, which together will invest up to $750 million for the retirement system.

MERS, an independent, statewide public retirement system with more than $6.5 billion in assets under management, awarded a $500 million private equity investment agreement to AlpInvest. The agreement has a five‐year investment period and covers the full range of AlpInvest’s investment strategies including Fund, Secondary as well as Co‐Investments. The agreement is tailored to the specific needs of MERS.

MERS also agreed to a strategic investment partnership with The Carlyle Group, worth up to $250 million over a five‐year period. The Carlyle Group, which manages more than $150 billion in global assets, has created a new Managed Account for MERS, giving the retirement system greater flexibility in capital allocation.

The partnerships offer MERS access to new markets through a proven investor in The Carlyle Group and an established global fund‐of‐funds investor in AlpInvest, said MERS Chief Executive Officer Anne Wagner.

“We are very happy to be AlpInvest’s first client in the U.S. market and to become one of the Carlyle Group’s first Managed Accounts,” Wagner said. “We anticipate building this new relationship to leverage their teams’ depth and breadth of expertise and experience as MERS explores the global private equity markets.”

MERS Chief Investment Officer Jeb Burns agreed.

“We’re constantly seeking strategic partnerships with proven investors. Both Carlyle and AlpInvest bring value‐added partnerships to MERS,” Burns added. “AlpInvest has demonstrated an ability to access all aspects of the private equity market and achieve top quartile performance over multiple market cycles. And as one of The Carlyle Group’s Managed Accounts we gain access to various sector and geographically diverse funds.”

The Carlyle Group’s Managing Director Glenn Youngkin said the partnership is important for his company, as it expands its Managed Accounts offerings. Mr. Youngkin said, “This is truly a first ‐ with MERS using the global capability of AlpInvest and Carlyle to construct a customized private equity portfolio over the next five years. We are pleased to have been selected to work with the MERS team.”

AlpInvest CEO and Chairman Volkert Doeksen said, “We are excited about this strategic partnership with MERS, which has a long history of investing in private equity. MERS will be an important first reference client for AlpInvest in the U.S.”

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About MERS
MERS of Michigan is an independent, statewide public retirement system serving more than 750 municipalities in the US, with more than $6.4 billion in assets under management.

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager with $107.6 billion of assets under management committed to 84 funds as of March 31, 2011. Carlyle invests across three segments ‐ corporate private equity, real assets and global market strategies ‐ in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace & defense, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,000 people in 20 countries.

About AlpInvest Partners
AlpInvest Partners is an independent global private equity asset manager with assets under management of more than €42bn. AlpInvest invests worldwide across primary fund, secondaries and co‐investment strategies, covering the entire private equity spectrum including mezzanine. AlpInvest operates from offices in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London and New York with around 115 staff, including over 55 investment professionals.

AlpInvest anchor clients are Dutch pension asset managers APG and PGGM. They founded the company in 1999 and were shareholders until 2011 when the company was acquired by a strategic joint venture between The Carlyle Group and AlpInvest management.