Carlyle CEO Says Swift US Election Results Will Recharge Dealmaking

(Bloomberg) -- Carlyle Group Inc. top boss Harvey Schwartz said the clear outcome to the presidential election will give corporate chiefs and investors more security to make big decisions and do more deals.

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“Being past the election has removed market uncertainty,” Carlyle’s chief executive officer said on an analyst call Thursday, after the firm reported its third-quarter financial results.

The end of the race was a “significant relief factor for the market,” Schwartz said.

Private equity firms such as Carlyle have been stuck in a prolonged deal slump, and have been slow to sell investments purchased in a lower-rate era.

But across Wall Street, the deal doldrums are lifting. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates further, and Donald Trump’s broad gains in key battleground states removed the possibility that the US would have to wait for an election winner.

While it remains to be seen how a Trump administration will enact tariffs and other policies, Schwartz said the election results lift another hurdle to mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings.

“I think Fed policy normalizing and being past the election, that’s a pretty powerful one-two punch for markets,” he said.

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