NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carlyle Group Inc said on Thursday its third-quarter distributable earnings jumped nearly fivefold, driven by record asset sales mostly in its private equity portfolio. Distributable earnings reached a record $731 million, up from $152 million a year earlier. Carlyle reported after-tax distributable earnings per share of $1.54, which exceeded the average Wall Street analyst forecast of $1.02, according to Refinitiv. The economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic and low interest rates have allowed many private equity firms like Carlyle to sell investments for top dollar and pushed merger and acquisition activity to new highs. Blackstone Group Inc, the world’s largest private equity firm, reported last week that its distributable earnings more than doubled to an all-time high in the third quarter, owing to strong asset sales. Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle said it generated a record $14 billion from selling assets in the quarter, including its minority stake in supplement maker The Bountiful Company to Nestle SA and analytics firm Novetta Solutions to Accenture Plc. Carlyle said it invested $6.3 billion to buy stakes in companies, including Texas-based software provider Abrigo and two subsidiaries of energy and environment firm Japan Asia Group. “By any measure, it was a record quarter for us,” Carlyle Chief Executive Kewsong Lee said in an interview. “It’s a factor of the environment and also we’ve been investing well in our companies.” Carlyle said its corporate private equity funds appreciated by 4%, while its real estate funds gained 9%. Funds managed under its secondaries business rose 10% during the quarter. By contrast, Blackstone reported a 9.9% appreciation in its private equity funds, while core real estate funds rose 7.6%. Carlyle reported net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of $533 million, up 80% from a year ago, driven by growth in investment income. Total assets under management rose to a record $293 billion, up 6% from the prior quarter, owing to strong capital raising and fund appreciation. Unspent capital grew to $89 billion. Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler