Carlyle to Buy Advance Auto Parts Unit for $1.5 Billion (1)

Carlyle Group Inc. is acquiring Advance Auto Parts Inc.’s Worldpac unit for $1.5 billion, striking the first major industrial investment for the firm in more than two years.

Worldpac, a wholesale distributor of original equipment replacement parts, generated about $2.1 billion in revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, according to a statement on Thursday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report.

Advance Auto Parts has been under pressure from shareholder activists to divest the Worldpac unit to improve compensation to better compete with AutoZone Inc. and O’Reilly Automotive Inc. In November, Advance Auto Parts said it ...