Will the Penultimate Insider Firm Go Public?

Private equity giant Carlyle Group is moving closer to an initial public offering, with banks making pitches this week to underwrite the deal, reports Reuters.

An offering could be around $1 billion, based on what banks are pitching, says Reuters.

Insiders who are, or have been, affiliated with Carlyle include:

James Baker III, former United States Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush, Staff member under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Carlyle Senior Counselor, served in this capacity from 1993 to 2005.

George H. W. Bush, former U.S. President, Senior Advisor to the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board from April 1998 to October 2003.

Frank C. Carlucci, former United States Secretary of Defense from 1987 to 1989; Carlyle Chairman and Chairman Emeritus from 1989 to 2005.

Arthur Levitt, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under President Bill Clinton, Carlyle Senior Advisor from 2001 to the present.

Mack McLarty, Carlyle Group Senior Advisor (from 2003), White House Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994.

Randal K. Quarles, former Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury under President George W. Bush, now a Carlyle managing director

John Major, former British Prime Minister, Chairman, Carlyle Europe from 2002 until 2005

Norman Pearlstine - editor-in-chief of Time magazine from (1995–2005). Current "Chief Content Officer" at Bloomberg.

 Olivier Sarkozy, half-brother of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Since the high-profile names, such as Bush, Major and Baker, have created too much focus on the firm. Carlyle now tends to keep major politicos who are working with the firm "off the books" so to speak and involved only through contracts via outside consulting firms.