21 Invest, the private equity firm led by Italian businessman Alessandro Benetton, is weighing up a potential sale of Italian eye-care company Sifi after nearly a decade of ownership, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.

Dutch firm Waterland Private Equity has made an investment in Beyond Law Group, which is intended to support the law firm’s growth through recruitment, the expansion of existing practices as well as acquisitions of niche practices.

3i Group is to sell its investment in Weener Plastics, a plastic packaging provider, to Silgan Holdings. Proceeds to 3i are estimated to be around £283m, which represents an approximately 21% uplift on its 31 March valuation.

The value of UK M&A activity for the first half of 2024 rose by two-thirds compared to the same period last year despite volume being down by a fifth over the same period, according to figures from PwC’s latest Global M&A Industry Trends report.

Genstar Capital, a San Francisco-headquartered private equity firm focused on the financial services, software, industrials and healthcare sectors, has made a majority investment in Docupace, a provider of back-office software for wealth management enterprises and financial advisors.

LA-based software and technology-focused private equity firm Diversis Capital has made an investment in Decision Lens, a provider of public sector planning software.

Platinum Equity, a private investment firm with more than $48bn in assets, is to acquire GSM Outdoors, a US outdoor and consumer sporting goods company with a portfolio of around 50 brands, from Gridiron Capital.

Global private investment firm KKR is to acquire Janney Montgomery Scott, a wealth management, investment banking and asset management firm with over $150bn in assets under administration, from The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company.