Carlyle Group, the largest investor in Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc., is selling off a portion of its holdings in the Valencia aircraft parts distributor through a secondary offering of common stock.

The offering seeks to sell 15 million shares of common stock, but affiliates of the Washington, D.C. private equity firm also could offer an additional 2.25 million shares. If all 17.25 million shares are sold, Carlyle would retain a 38.6 percent stake in Wesco.

Wesco would not receive any proceeds from the secondary sale. Carlyle bought a majority stake in the company in 2006 when it was privately held, and took it public in July 2011, raising $315 million in the initial public offering. The proceeds of the sale went to Wesco Chief Executive Randy J. Snyder and Carlyle.

Shares closed up 7 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $16.64 on the New York Stock Exchange.