Private equity fund closings fell by 37% in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2023, to just 150, the lowest figure seen in any quarter since 2018, according to a report by Pensions & Investments.
Record Currency Management, a $102.2bn alternative asset manager, has appointed Andreas Koester as CEO of EM & Frontier Investments. In his new role, Koester will also lead the firm’s $1bn Record Emerging Market Sustainable Finance Fund (EMSF).
Global investment company abrdn has completed the sale of its £7.4bn European-headquartered private equity operation to alternative investment firm Patria Investments for around £100m, with the business set to be renamed Patria Private Equity Trust.
Blackstone has upped the ante in the bidding war to acquire troubled music rights business Hipgnosis Songs Fund with an improved $1.6bn offer, trumping a rival $1.5bn bid from Concord, a US-based music investment group backed by Apollo Global Management, according to a report by Reuters.
Mayfair Equity Partners, a technology and consumer-focused investment firm with over £2bn in AUM, has promoted Nick Keegan and Yusuf Hoballah to Partner, and Abbie Robus to Senior Associate. In addition, Maria Carradice is taking on a new senior role to lead the delivery of Mayfair’s evolving data strategy.
Software-focused investment firm Thoma Bravo has reached an agreement with the board of directors at Darktrace, a UK specialist in cybersecurity artificial intelligence, to acquire the business in an all-cash $5.4bn deal.
A number of private credit firms including Blackstone have held talks with KKR & Co over providing a debt package of at least $525m to support the buyout firm’s bid to acquire Perpetual’s corporate trust and wealth management units, according to a report by Bloomberg.
NextEnergy Capital (NEC), a global renewables manager specialising in the solar infrastructure sector, has held the second close of its fifth strategy NextPower V ESG (NPV ESG) with $745m in capital commitments, having raised an additional $265m since first close.
Global law firm Goodwin has appointed Ian Keefe and George Weavil as Partners within the firm’s private equity practice in its London office, which covers M&A, private investment funds and debt finance.
Blackstone and Goldman Sachs are lining up to provide around $1.6bn in funding to support a potential take-private deal for L’Occitane International by the company’s owner Reinold Geiger, which could value the skincare business at about $7bn including debt, according to a report by Bloomberg.
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