Former Democratic Federal Communications Commission chairman William Kennard
has landed a prized position with Washington, D.C.-based The Carlyle Group, a
$13 billion private buyout firm stacked with Republican heavyweights.
According to the Washington Post, former president George Bush is an
adviser to Carlyle's Asia fund, and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III
and former defense secretary Frank C. Carlucci are partners in the firm, which
has an estimated worth of $3.5 billion.
In his new position, Kennard will serve as managing director of Carlyle's
global telecommunications and media-investing strategy. He begins his new job
May 14, Carlyle said in a statement Wednesday.
'Bill Kennard will be an invaluable asset to Carlyle. He was an outstanding
FCC chairman and has a deep knowledge of the players and the rapidly changing
technologies in the telecommunications world,' Carlyle chairman Carlucci said in
the statement. 'We are delighted that he is joining us.'
Kennard resigned Jan. 19, one day before the Bush administration took over
the White House. He became FCC chairman in November 1999, succeeding Democrat
Reed Hundt.
Carlyle describes itself as one of the world largest private equity firms,
which manages 13 funds. The company claimed that it has achieved a 34 percent
internal rate of return on $3.5 billion in equity capital invested since
1987.
Carlyle hit the jackpot in the cable industry in 1998 with partner Prime
Cable of Texas.
The pair put down $250 million to acquire cable systems in Arlington, Va.,
and Montgomery County, Md., and received $735 million in cash for their stake
just six months later, when Comcast Corp. purchased the properties in a $1.35
billion deal, including assumed debt.
