Carlyle buys 17.3% of China dairy maker Yashili

HONG KONG, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] said on Sunday that the U.S. private equity giant had bought a minority stake in Yashili to help the leading Chinese infant formula maker improve its research and production.

Washington-based Carlyle obtained a 17.3 percent stake in Yashili, headquartered in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, according to an e-mailed statement from Carlyle, which disclosed no further financial details of the deal. For related Asian private equity news, Reuters 3000 Xtra users can double click on: [LEN-RTRS-ASIA-PVE] (Reporting by George Chen)