Deals

Carlyle Is Seeking Sale of Art-Financing Group Athena

Olivier SarkozyPhotographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
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Carlyle Group LP is looking to sell Athena Art Finance Corp. just three years after helping start the business, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

The boutique lender was founded in 2015 with $280 million of capital from Carlyle and the private-equity unit of Pictet, a Geneva-based wealth manager. It was the brainchild of Olivier Sarkozy, a former Carlyle managing director and half-brother of the former French president. Sarkozy, who didn’t reply to a message seeking comment, joined Athena’s board in 2016, the same year he left Carlyle.