Carlyle Sells Debt of Roomba Maker as Bankruptcy Risks Loom

Carlyle Group Inc. sold a troubled loan it provided to iRobot Corp. less than three years ago as the maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners is trying to stave off a potential bankruptcy filing.

The investment firm sold about $191 million of outstanding debt in principal and interest to Santrum, a subsidiary of Shenzhen PICEA Robotics Co., according to a Monday filing. The company didn’t disclose whether the debt was sold at a discount. PICEA is a large manufacturer for iRobot which was owed about $161 million, with some already past due, and is in discussions with the company, iRobot said in the filing.