Houston-based private equity firm Pelican Energy Partners has agreed to acquire GSE Solutions, an engineering provider to the nuclear power industry, in an all-cash transaction.

Alchemy has agreed to sell pan-European telecommunications business, Lebara Group, which has over 4m subscribers across the UK, Netherlands, Germany, France and Denmark, to Waterland Private Equity.

Family and founder-focused private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg has agreed to acquire a controlling interest in Golden State Foods, a US supplier to the foodservice and retail industries, doing so alongside the Wetterau family, who will maintain a significant ownership interest.

Florida-based private equity firm New Water Capital has sold Trillium Health Care Products, a contract development and manufacturing organisation of branded over-the-counter products in North America, to New York-based private equity firm Avista Healthcare Partners.

Adenia, a private equity firm focused on growth opportunities in Africa, has sold its stake in payments service provider OMOA Group to SPE Capital, a private equity firm focused on the Middle East and Africa.

Mid-market private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners has closed the merger of its portfolio company TranSystems with Gannett Fleming, another transportation infrastructure service firm and a portfolio company of OceanSound Partners.

Anduril Industries, a defence technology start-up, has raised $1.5bn in a fundraising round led by Founders Fund, the venture capital firm founded by Peter Thiel, and Sands Capital, which values the California-based start-up at $14bn.

LA-based private equity firm Meaningful Partners has acquired Fitness Ventures, a US health and wellness platform and the second largest franchisee of Crunch Fitness.

Private equity buyout activity made a resurgence in the first half of the year, with direct lending emerging as a crucial component in the current market topography, according to the latest data from Mergermarket and Debtwire.