The Government Employees Pension Fund in South Africa is looking to invest ZAR25 billion ($1.6 billion) in private firms, according to a report from Bloomberg. A joint statement from GEPF and the Public Investment Corp (ZAR2.1 trillion AuM) reveals that all investment decisions will be made by the PIC. Financial details have not been disclosed.  The initial planned allocation was ZAR70 billion (~ $4.4 billion), however, after a judicial enquiry was launched against the PIC, the size of the allocation was reduced.

As the private credit sector booms to over $1 trillion, mammoth asset manager, BlackRock is in the market for private credit opportunities and is looking to raise a total of $4 billion. This follows the 2019 Global Credit Opportunities fund, which raised around $2 billion. BlackRock has already raised half of the targeted allocation for this fund, with fundraising continuing. Preqin is predicting that private credit will be the second largest private capital class by 2023, and that assets under management could reach $2.69 trillion by 2026.

International digital therapeutics leader Sidekick Health has raised $55 million in a Series B funding round led by London-based venture capital firm Novator Ventures. Wellington Partners, Asabys Partners, and Frumtak Ventures also participated in the round along with a US-based strategic investor that will be revealed at a later stage.  Novator Ventures general partner and founder Birgir Mar Ragnarsson joins Sidekick’s board of directors in conjunction with the closing of the Series B financing. 

TIMIA Capital Corporation (TIMIA), a specialist in private credit, is to acquire Brightpath Capital Corporation and Brightpath Residential Mortgage LP I (collectively, Brightpath), a Canadian private provider of residential mortgages focused on Ontario and British Columbia, for a purchase price of approximately $30.5 million. The deal price comprises a combination of 31,250,000 common shares (Common Shares) with a deemed value of $0.40 per share and 18,000,000 series A preferred shares (Preferred Shares) with a deemed value of $1.00 per share. The Brightpath management team will continue to operate the mortgage lending company.

Nordic Capital-backed ADVANZ PHARMA Corp, a UK-headquartered pharmaceutical company with a strategic focus on specialty and hospital pharmaceuticals in Europe, is to acquire the majority of Intercept Pharmaceuticals’ subsidiaries and operations in Europe, Canada, and all other markets outside of the US. This includes the ex-US rights to commercialise Ocaliva (obeticholic acid) for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a progressive autoimmune disease that damages the bile ducts in the liver. Intercept is a US-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases. The majority of Intercept employees outside of the US will

Januar ApS (januar.com) has closed the largest seed round in Danish history, a €6 million fund-raising led by Element Ventures. Angular Ventures, Outward VC, and early pre-seed backers byFounders also participated in the round which also includes well-renowned angel investors including Nicolas Julia, co-founder and CEO of Sorare, Charlie Songhurst, former Head of Strategy at Microsoft, Pierre-Antoine Pierre, CEO and Founder IBanFirst, Jørgen Horwitz, former Director of Finansrådet as well as Einar Braathen from CoinFund.    With the proceeds from the seed round, Januar aims to become a leading one-stop crypto gate for European businesses, serving the growing crypto and

HIG Capital (HIG) portfolio company, The Bluebird Group (Bluebird), has acquired 479 Sales & Marketing, LLC (479), a full-service retail services consulting firm. With almost two decades of experience, 479 provides leading brands with the strategic planning, operations consulting, account management, digital optimization, and data analytics services necessary to succeed at Walmart, Walmart.com and Sam’s Club.