Ancient Announces the Conclusion of its Highly Successful Partnership with Sotheby’s

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 20, 2026--

Ancient today announced the conclusion of its partnership with Sotheby’s to accelerate the growth of Sotheby’s Financial Services (“SFS”), the world’s leading full-service art financing company. Ancient exited its investment in Sotheby’s through a prearranged sale of its interest to Sotheby’s controlling shareholder.

Since the partnership was announced in 2020, the collaboration meaningfully strengthened SFS and positioned it for its next phase of growth. As Executive Chairman of SFS, Alexander Klabin and his investment firm, Ancient, along with Scott Milleisen, Co-Head and Global Head of Lending of SFS, and Ron Elimelekh, Co-Head, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Capital Officer of SFS, led the transformation of SFS into a high-performing art lending platform. Together, they built SFS’s management team, streamlined its underwriting processes, completed a landmark securitization facility backed entirely by art loans and broadened its market with new product offerings such as classic car lending.

These initiatives increased SFS’s loan portfolio by more than $1 billion, and tripled SFS’s profitability over the course of the 5-year partnership.

Alexander Klabin said, “SFS is a powerful example of what can be accomplished when a premier global brand and an entrepreneurial investment partner work together with a shared long-term vision. During our partnership, we built an exceptional team, completed Wall Street’s first-ever art-loan securitization transaction and delivered strong growth in profitability each year. These achievements have left SFS well positioned for sustained future growth – and I want to thank Scott Milleisen and Ron Elimelekh for their strong leadership, dedicated partnership and wish the entire Sotheby’s team great success.”

SFS continues to operate as a core component of Sotheby’s global offering, providing capital solutions for collectors around the world.

About Ancient
Founded by Alexander Klabin, Ancient is a long-term investor in unique and enduring businesses across both specialty finance and specialized services. The firm provides long-term capital and operational expertise to a focused group of platforms where it can drive transformative growth in partnership with visionary leaders.

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KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING ASSET MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE

SOURCE: Ancient

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PUB: 02/20/2026 09:00 AM/DISC: 02/20/2026 09:00 AM

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