Report: Carlyle Eyes IPO

Blackstone Group's

(BX) - Get Report

initial public offering could be forcing the hand of other

private-equity shops.

According to a

Dow Jones

report Carlyle Group is at least weighing the possibility of listing its shares publicly. Jason Lee, Carlyle's managing director and real estate head in Asia, on Wednesday called Blackstone's Friday IPO "highly successful."

"We are certainly evaluating that option as well," he told

Dow Jones

.

A call to a Carlyle spokesman was not immediately returned.

Blackstone's shares have been tanking in the market since its debut, on the basis of a raft of negative news hailing from Capitol Hill. In the past two days, the stock has lost nearly all of the 13% pop it experienced in its first day of trading.

Much of the drag on Blackstone's stock centers on investors attempting to properly value the company and on congressional proposals put forth over the past several weeks that could look to eat into revenue for private-equity firms and hedge funds, whether they are public or not.

Lee said that Carlyle is considering a public offering in order to stay competitive with its private-equity rivals. He did not indicate when the firm might pursue a potential IPO or say whether the Washington, D.C.-based shop had hired an investment banker to advise it.

Blackstone's announcement to list itself on the

New York Stock Exchange

followed a move to the public market for

Fortress Investment Group

(FIG)

, a New York-based hedge fund, and news that

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

has hired

Citigroup

and

Morgan Stanley

to advise it on a possible IPO.

The moves to go public by those alternative investment firms have compelled others to evaluate their own game plans, since listing publicly allows longtime partners and co-founders to cash out and enables the firms to retain talent and provide incentives to staffers.

Others said to be on the brink of making similar public moves include

Apollo Management

, run by Leon Black, and

Texas Pacific Group

.

Meanwhile, the subprime mortgage market's slide and worries about credit available to private equity investors are threatening to deflate what has been heady leveraged buyout activity. But even if the markets go south, LBO firms have raised war chests to fuel their purchases that must be put to work or returned to investors.