Carlyle Group Wins Authentix Deal Appeal, Ending Long Legal Saga

Carlyle Group Inc. prevailed on appeal Wednesday against efforts to revive litigation challenging its $77.5 million private equity sale of anti-counterfeiting company Authentix Inc.

The Delaware Supreme Court upheld a decision rejecting allegations that Carlyle was driven by an urgent exit timeline to squeeze out minority investors at an unfair price when it flipped Authentix to Blue Water Energy LLP. The judge who ruled for Carlyle shot down the idea that its “bog-standard” private equity business model created a meaningful conflict of interest.

That decision in January 2025 by Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III, who retired from Delaware’s ...