Carlyle Agrees Majority Investment in MAI Capital at $2.8bn-plus Valuation
Carlyle has agreed to a majority investment in MAI Capital, valuing the private‑credit manager at more than $2.8 billion. The deal underscores Carlyle’s push into high‑yield lending platforms as private‑credit assets surge. At the same time, peers such as Blue Owl, Ares and 17Capital have closed multi‑billion‑dollar credit funds, while PE‑owned companies borrowed $94 billion in 2025 to fund payouts. Regulatory attention is rising, with Congress and the Fed probing private‑credit risks and firms like Blackstone exploring IPO routes for portfolio companies.
Blackstone Explores $500m IPO for AGS Health in India
Blackstone is in early talks to launch a Mumbai‑based IPO for its AGS Health unit, targeting up to $500 million in proceeds. The offering would combine primary shares and secondary sales, with a valuation goal of roughly $3 billion. AGS Health, founded...
Corum Advises Twikey in Majority Acquisition by Smile Sail
Corum Group announced that Smile Sail has taken a majority stake in Belgian fintech Twikey, a platform that streamlines recurring payments across Europe. The investment comes from Smile Sail’s €275 million (~$302 million) evergreen private‑equity fund and will finance Twikey’s next growth...
Nike Bats Away Converse Sale Talk as Authentic Brands Circles Struggling Label
Nike confirmed it is not currently negotiating a sale of Converse, even as Authentic Brands Group has signaled interest. Converse revenues have plunged, falling 35% in the third quarter to $264 million after consecutive quarterly drops. Nike’s overall third‑quarter revenue held...
Hapag-Lloyd Raises Baxi Stake to 50%
Hapag‑Lloyd has raised its equity in Indian logistics group JM Baxi to a 50 percent stake, confirming the move in its 2025 annual report. The carrier now controls the newly created JM Baxi Container Holdings through a board majority, while retaining...
Cooley Maintains Top Rankings in Global M&A and Private Equity
Cooley’s global M&A and private‑equity practices retained top positions in Bloomberg’s Q1 2026 league tables. The firm ranked #1 worldwide in both life‑science and technology deal counts, #3 overall M&A, and #2 in private‑equity transactions. It advised on high‑profile deals...
China’s Coffee Market Splits in Two as Luckin Moves Upmarket and Mixue Digs Deeper
Centurium Capital is acquiring Blue Bottle’s global retail stores for under $400 million, giving Luckin Coffee a premium brand to complement its low‑price model. Mixue Bingcheng is piloting freshly ground coffee in select outlets, installing $4,800 automatic machines to broaden its...
Popular Pizza Chain Sold During 80th Anniversary
Buddy's Pizza, the Detroit‑style pizzeria founded in 1946, has been acquired by a Detroit‑based investment group led by Saber Ammori, Andrew Dickow and Kevin Denha. The transaction closes as the brand celebrates its 80th anniversary, and the new owners stress...
Covenant Trends – 3/30/2026
Covenant Trends released its March 30, 2026 update, spotlighting the latest share of loans that contain asset‑sale sweep step‑down provisions. The accompanying chart shows a modest but steady rise in the percentage of such loans over the past two years, signaling lenders...
The Pulse of Private Equity – 3/30/2026
Private equity exit activity in the United States has shifted toward fewer, larger deals. According to PitchBook data through December 2025, the number of exits exceeding $1 billion is 9.7 % below the pre‑pandemic average, even as total exit value stays near...
Nihon PMI Partners on Tapping Into Japan’s Home-Based Healthcare Market
Nihon PMI Partners announced a strategic push into Japan’s rapidly expanding home‑based healthcare sector. CEO Satoshi Hamada highlighted that the nation’s aging population and a policy‑driven shift from hospital to community care are creating sizable investment openings. The firm plans...
T Capital Partners on Unlocking Value in Japan’s Mid-Market
T Capital Partners, led by Koji Sasaki and Toshihide Matsuda, is targeting Japan’s small and mid‑cap companies, which they view as ripe for operational transformation. The firm believes the mid‑market segment, often overlooked by larger private‑equity funds, holds significant upside...
KKR on How Capital Solutions Are a Structural Growth Opportunity
KKR’s Strategic Investments Group is championing capital‑solutions strategies that pair companies with flexible, partnership‑oriented financing. Blaine MacDougald, co‑head of the group, stresses that these solutions are built on aligned value creation, allowing firms to pursue growth without the constraints of traditional...
CVC DIF on Europe’s Mid-Market Moment
CVC DIF’s Gijs Voskuyl highlights Europe’s mid‑market as a sweet spot for private‑equity investors, offering a blend of attractive entry points and strong value‑creation potential. The firm argues that investors with a genuine on‑the‑ground presence and repeatable execution capabilities can unlock...
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners on Ample Opportunities and Diverse Exits
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) says limited‑partner interest in mid‑market infrastructure is surging as the sector offers a broader array of deals and multiple exit pathways. Alberto Donzelli highlighted that the expanding pipeline spans renewables, transport and digital assets, giving...
Success in Mid-Market Infra Requires Disciplined Growth – Actis
Actis’s head of infrastructure for Central and Eastern Europe argues that the mid‑market infrastructure segment should be defined by the constraints investors face rather than by ticket size. Success, he says, depends on disciplined, incremental growth rather than relying on...
Ridgewood Infrastructure on Acquiring with Purpose, Growing with Precision and Exiting with Intent
Ridgewood Infrastructure’s Ross Posner highlights the lower mid‑market as a sweet spot for infrastructure investors. He argues that deals in this segment deliver compelling returns across acquisition, growth, and exit phases. Ridgewood’s strategy centers on purposeful acquisitions, precise operational scaling,...
The New Normal: Joint Ventures, Longer Commitments, and the Rise of Earn-Outs
Veterinary practice transactions are moving from outright buyouts to partnership‑focused structures. Joint ventures now outnumber full acquisitions, and sellers are expected to stay involved for four to five years after closing. Earn‑outs are increasingly linked to post‑closing EBITDA rather than...
Pharma Goes on $25.5B, Eight-Day Acquisition Spree
Pharmaceutical companies launched an eight‑day acquisition blitz, with six firms announcing deals worth about $25.5 billion. Two of those transactions involve upfront payments exceeding $5 billion each, underscoring the aggressive pace. The deals focus on securing biotech pipelines and specialty drug assets...
Pineal Capital Management Issues Open Letter to the Board of Teladoc Health, Inc.
Pineal Capital Management, a shareholder of Teladoc Health, issued an open letter urging the board to act on what it sees as a severely undervalued stock trading at roughly 4.18× EV/EBITDA. The firm highlights a 90% share price decline, doubled...
AI Disruption Fears Hitting Secondaries Portfolios Along With War
AI‑driven disruption and heightened geopolitical risk are prompting secondary market investors to re‑evaluate private‑equity fund portfolios. Sellers face tighter pricing as buyers demand deeper due‑diligence on AI‑exposed assets. War‑related supply chain shocks further compress valuations, especially in consumer‑focused funds. The...
Angeles Equity Partners Taps Derek Rush as VP for the Investment Team
Angeles Equity Partners announced the appointment of Derek Rush as Vice President of its investment team. Rush will lead the evaluation, execution, and management of investments across the industrials sector. The hire expands the firm’s senior investment bench as it...
McCormick & Co., Unilever Reach Acquisition Agreement
McCormick & Co. announced an agreement to acquire the majority of Unilever’s Food business, creating a combined company with roughly $20 billion in annual sales. Unilever shareholders will receive shares representing 65% of the new entity’s equity, valued at $29.1 billion, plus...
Merger Checklist: 34 Action Steps
The CPA Trendlines article outlines a 34‑step merger checklist aimed at CPA firms, emphasizing that full integration can take three to four years but critical administrative tasks must be tackled in the first months. It advises firms to begin integration...
Aurelius to Sell Airline Catering Business LSG APAC
Aurelius, the private‑equity firm that bought LSG Asia‑Pacific from Deutsche Lufthansa in 2023, announced plans to sell the airline catering subsidiary. The move follows a broader strategy to streamline Aurelius’ portfolio and capitalize on the post‑pandemic recovery in airline services....
SAIL Leadership Buyout Signals New Growth Phase
Canadian outdoor retailer SAIL Outdoors completed a management‑led buyout, placing President Isabelle Lemay, CFO Stefania Cella and VP of Marketing Catherine Venne in majority control, backed by Fonds de solidarité FTQ. The transition follows a 2020 creditor‑protection filing, operational streamlining...
Consolidation, Partnerships and Growth: Supplement Industry Deals of Q1 2026
In 2025 the supplement sector experienced a surge of consolidation, with numerous mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances reshaping the market. At the same time, consumer preferences shifted toward personalized, convenient self‑care products, prompting brands to launch targeted formulations and messaging....
ArcLight in Deal to Buy 2.2 GW From InfraBridge, Mainly Gas
ArcLight Capital Partners announced a deal to purchase roughly 2.2 GW of primarily gas‑fired power assets from InfraBridge, including a 1,362‑MW stake in the Lackawanna plant and a 584‑MW Canadian facility. The acquisition would lift ArcLight’s PJM Interconnection portfolio from about...
Maven Exits AccessPay to Accel-KKR
Maven Capital has sold its stake in AccessPay to private‑equity firm Accel‑KKR. The transaction values the B2B payments platform at roughly $200 million. AccessPay provides software that links corporate back‑office finance systems directly to banking networks, automating payments and reconciliations. Maven’s...
Carlyle to Buy Majority Stake in MAI Capital; Investcorp-Backed Resultant Picks up Liberty Advisor Group
Carlyle agreed to buy a majority stake in MAI Capital Management, a private‑credit specialist managing roughly $5 billion of loan assets. Investcorp‑backed Resultant acquired Liberty Advisor Group, a Chicago boutique that advises private‑equity firms and Fortune 500 companies on M&A transactions. Greenbelt...
Closed Loop Partners Acquires Metal Processing Company
Closed Loop Partners, the New York‑based circular‑economy investor, has acquired a majority interest in Sutter Metals, a regional metal‑processing firm operating in Washington state. The partnership will fund expansion of processing capacity, geographic reach, and a buy‑and‑build M&A strategy targeting...
Carlyle to Acquire Majority Stake in MAI Capital
The Carlyle Group announced it will acquire a majority stake in MAI Capital Management for a valuation exceeding $2.8 billion, with the transaction slated to close in the second quarter of 2026. MAI, which oversees more than $72 billion in assets and...
Mirza International Acquires Solethreads to Enter Semi-Premium Footwear Segment
Mirza International has acquired 100% of Gurugram‑based casual‑footwear startup Solethreads, marking its entry into India’s fast‑growing semi‑premium footwear segment. Solethreads, founded in 2020, has raised over $7 million and achieved a monthly run rate of about $638,000, with presence in 600...
Palico Reduces Fees to 5bps for $50m-Plus Sales
Palico, a digital LP-led secondaries marketplace, announced it will lower its transaction fee to 5 basis points for sales exceeding $50 million. The fee reduction aims to attract larger institutional secondary deals, a segment the platform has previously serviced with smaller...
RIA Sellers Seek to Mitigate Market Impact on Payout Potential
RIA sellers are re‑engineering earn‑out structures as market volatility threatens payout forecasts. Buyers are increasingly stripping market‑driven asset appreciation from revenue models and inserting catch‑up clauses that grant sellers extra time to meet targets if markets dip. Negotiations now prioritize...
Canyon Acquires Columbine Poudre Home Care, Bloom at Home
Colorado-based Canyon Home Care & Hospice announced the acquisition of Columbine Poudre Home Care and its affiliate Bloom at Home, extending its service footprint across northern Colorado. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, brings together two culturally aligned...
Crown Reserve Acquisition Corp. I and Carvix, Inc. Announce Definitive Business Combination Agreement
Crown Reserve Acquisition Corp. I announced a definitive business combination with Carvix, Inc., valuing the automotive‑technology platform at an implied $1 billion enterprise value in an all‑stock deal priced at $10 per share. The transaction hinges on at least $80 million of PIPE...
In the World of Stripe: Acquisitions, Agentic AI, and Stablecoins
Stripe, now valued at roughly $159 billion after a 74% jump from the prior year, is reportedly in early‑stage talks to acquire PayPal. The potential deal would give Stripe immediate access to PayPal’s 439 million active consumer and merchant accounts and its...
Blackstone Closes $6.3B BXLS VI Fund, Making It the Largest Life Sciences Vehicle
Blackstone announced the final close of its Life Sciences VI fund at a hard cap of $6.3 billion, roughly 40% larger than the prior vehicle. The BXLS platform, launched in 2018, now manages about $15 billion and invests across the entire drug...
Blackstone Strikes €1bn Sale of Fidere Residential Platform to Brookfield
Blackstone has agreed to sell its Fidere residential platform to Brookfield for €1 billion, roughly $1.08 billion. The deal ends Blackstone’s involvement in one of Spain’s largest private‑rental housing portfolios, which comprises over 10,000 units across major cities. Brookfield gains a strategic...
Magnum Ice Cream Completes Acquisition of Stake in Kwality Wall’s
Magnum Ice Cream Netherlands has finalized the purchase of a 61.9% majority stake in Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd, acquiring 145.44 crore equity shares from Unilever and other outgoing promoters. The deal, rooted in a Share Purchase Agreement signed on June 25 2025, reclassifies...
Abenex Beats Second Small Cap Fund Target with €180m Close After over Two Years in Market
French private equity firm Abenex announced that its second small‑cap fund closed at €180 million, surpassing its original fundraising target. The final close came after more than two years of marketing to limited partners. The fund, aimed at European small‑cap companies,...
Apollo Nears $10bn Acquisition of KKR’s Atlantic Aviation
Apollo Global Management is close to buying Atlantic Aviation for nearly $10 billion, partnering with Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC for a majority stake while KKR retains a minority interest. The deal would mark KKR’s exit from the private‑jet services provider...
Blackstone Closes Record $6.3bn Life Sciences Fund
Blackstone announced that its sixth life sciences fund, BXLS VI, closed at $6.3 billion, making it the largest private fund ever raised for the sector. The fund was oversubscribed and is about 40% larger than the $4.6 billion fifth fund closed in 2020,...
Nordstrom’s $6.25 Billion Deal to Go Private Is Paying Off—And Don’t Expect an IPO Anytime Soon
Nordstrom completed a $6.25 billion take‑private in 2025, giving the founding family a 50.1% stake alongside Mexico’s El Puerto de Liverpool. In 2025 revenue rose 7% to $15.9 billion, finally surpassing its 2019 peak after pandemic‑related weakness. The private structure lets the co‑CEOs...
India’s Real Estate PE Inflows Jump 59% to $6.7 Billion in 2025; Office, Data Centres Lead: Savills India
India’s real‑estate private‑equity inflows surged 59% in 2025, reaching $6.7 billion, driven by strong GDP growth and easing monetary conditions. Office assets led the market with $2.4 billion, while data centres and residential properties also saw sizable allocations. Foreign investors contributed roughly...
BX 2026-ALOHA Issues Single-Borrower $1.2 Billion, CMBS Deal
BX 2026‑ALOHA has launched a $1.2 billion single‑borrower CMBS transaction. The deal, backed by a non‑recourse first‑lien mortgage, covers 36 Hawaii properties—20 retail, 15 industrial and two office assets—leasing 92.7% to over 670 tenants. KBRA assigned AAA, AA‑, and A‑ ratings...
Major Property Firm Rebrands Following Acquisition
BTG Eddisons Property Auctions has rebranded after acquiring Network Auctions, joining three other firms under a single national brand. The combined group, which includes Pugh, SDL Property Auctions and Mark Jenkinson, sold more than £375 million (≈$480 million) of property and land...
NBA Board of Governors Approves Sale of Trail Blazers to Investor Group Led by Tom Dundon
The NBA Board of Governors has approved the sale of a controlling interest in the Portland Trail Blazers to an investor group led by Tom Dundon. Dundon will assume the role of the franchise’s Governor, and the transaction is slated...
Levine Leichtman Rolls Out Latest Small-Cap Fund, Targets $1.7bn
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has introduced a new small‑cap private‑equity fund aiming to raise $1.7 billion. The vehicle will target companies with enterprise values below $500 million, leveraging the firm’s sourcing network and operational expertise. Large institutional investors, especially U.S. public pension...
