Private-equity major KKR is closing in on a deal to acquire a significant stake in FGS Global that will value the financial communications company, which is backed by UK advertising group WPP, at about $1.4 billion, according to a report by The Financial Times. Unnamed FT sources have revealed the the deal, which could be announced as soon as next week, is expected to see KKR acquire more than 30% of the business from senior employees at both FGS and WPP. WPP, which currently owns about 57.4 per cent of the company, is expected to retain a majority in the business.

Aurelius has acquired Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s integrated airline catering and onboard retail provider the LSG Group. The transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, is subject to approval by the relevant competition and regulatory authorities. The carve-out transaction includes all classic catering, onboard retail and food commerce activities, and the LSG Group’s brands with all 131 LSG Sky Chefs Customer Service Centres in the Americas, Emerging Markets and Asia-Pacific regions. Additionally, the acquisition includes the onboard retail expert Retail inMotion, based in Europe, and SCIS Air Security Services in the US. The LSG Group

Audax Private Equity, a private investment firm focused on North American middle market companies, has acquired specialist distribution platform Krayden, Inc from private equity firm Quad-C Management. 

Quadrivio Group’s Industry 4.0 fund, a private equity vehicle investing in digital transition and technological innovation for Italian SMEs, is to sell EPI, an Italian company that specialises in the sale of sports merchandise for Serie A football clubs, to Fanatics, a global specialist in licensed sports merchandise with operations in over 60 countries. The sale of EPI, which the Quadrivio Group acquired in November 2020, marks the first exit for Industry 4.0 Fund. During Quadrivio’s two and a half years of ownership,  the company has significantly increased its sales by about 125% and more than doubled its profitability. EPI

Ethos Capital has acquired Newforma, a collaboration platform aimed at helping companies deliver complex architectural, engineering, and construction projects more efficiently and cost-effectively.

US private investment giant Blackstone is hoping to agree a £700 million deal to acquire British commercial property company Industrials Reit after offering to pay shareholders a 42% premium to Friday’s closing price to take the company private, according to a report by the Financial Times. The board of Industrials Reit, which has a seven million sq ft portfolio of UK industrial and warehouse space, has said it will recommend Blackstone’s offer and is “working closely” with the investment firm “to complete as soon as is practicable”. The offer price of 168p a share is equivalent to the company’s share

Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm specialising in distressed investing with around $55 billion under management, has completed the sale of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) to SATS for an enterprise value of €2.25 billion. Cerberus acquired WFS in 2018 for an enterprise value of €1.2 billion. Since then, WFS has through organic growth and multiple add-on acquisitions, strategically expanded its global network and presence in key cargo hubs, and further developed its speciality handling segments for e-commerce and pharmaceuticals. The Company successfully drove its initiatives and significant growth through the Covid-19 pandemic, which had an unprecedented impact on the

Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, the middle-market focused private equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is to sell Ovation Fertility to US Fertility. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.