Private equity firm Carlyle Group said on Monday it would buy aircraft and auto parts maker Sequa Corp. for $2 billion.

The $175-a-share offer is a 54 percent premium to the stock's most recent closing price. Including debt, the deal is worth $2.7 billion.

Sequa said the estate of founder Norman Alexander and related entities, which hold about a 54 percent stake in the company, have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction. Alexander died in December 2006.

Sequa makes aerospace, automotive, metal coating, specialty chemical, industrial machinery and other products.

The automotive sector has seen a slew of deals in recent months amid a broad industry restructuring. In the latest move, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has been fighting to win approval of his plan to buy auto parts maker Lear Corp., on Monday sweetened his offer for the company.

The Sequa deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will be financed through a combination of equity contributed by investment funds affiliated with Carlyle, and external debt financing provided by Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and JP Morgan.

Evercore Group advised Sequa, while Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and JPMorgan were financial advisers to Carlyle.

(Reporting by Caroline Humer; additional reporting by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty in Bangalore)

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