Private equity firm Carlyle Group is focused on traditional buyouts in the Australian market, even though its two most recent deals were for a minority stake, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

Carlyle jointly owns two of Australia's largest privately owned firms -- equipment hire firm Coates and hospital operator Healthscope -- and has said it is looking for more deals.

Last year it bought just a 15 percent strategic stake in listed logistics firm Qube Holdings for A$116 million, a firm that has been busy making acquisitions of its own.

Carlyle Group managing director Matthew Hunter said the group was open-minded about whether future deals would be minority stakes or control deals, but it probably preferred control deals in Australia.

"The focus for us here in Australia is really the traditional model, which is the control type transactions," Hunter told a private-equity roundtable organised by industry lobby group AVCAL.

"Because we have a lot of experience in doing these types (minority stake buys) up in Asia, there is at least an open mind in looking at those transactions as well."

The group in 2010 took a minority stake in foreign exchange payments firm OzForex for an undisclosed sum. OzForex is majority owned by a unit of Macquarie Group.