S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of global private equity news stories and more published throughout the week.
Scores of US companies have relocated their headquarters to Texas since 2021. Venture capital is following them.
Texas-headquartered companies drew US$9.91 billion in venture capital investment this year through Nov. 25, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Venture capital investment is on track to cool just slightly from 2024, when the US$10.97 billion raised for Texas companies through rounds of funding drove a surge in venture capital investment targeting the US Southwest region.
Two hundred US companies moved to Texas from another part of the country between 2021 and 2024, including a trio associated with technology entrepreneur Elon Musk: Tesla Inc., Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and X.AI LLC. State records indicate a significant portion of the new arrivals came from California, the center of the global tech economy.
They did not just come for the brisket and oversized belt buckles. Lower taxes and Texas' relatively lax approach to land use and labor regulations are a major draw.
Read more about Texas' lead in attracting venture capital investment to the US Southwest.
CHART OF THE WEEK: Deal value surges higher in November
⮞ Global private equity and venture capital deal value totaled US$50.11 billion in November, up 31% from US$38.37 billion in the year-ago period, according to Market Intelligence data.
⮞ Entry deal value for the year through Nov. 30 was US$828.96 billion, already higher than the 2024 full-year total of US$704.29 billion.
⮞ Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC's US$10.31 billion take-private deal targeting bubble-wrap maker Sealed Air Corp. was the largest private equity transaction announced in November.
TOP DEALS
– CVC Capital Partners PLC agreed to acquire London-based security screening equipment maker Smiths Detection Group Ltd. at an enterprise value of £2 billion. Freshfields LLP is Smiths' legal adviser on the deal.
– EQT AB (publ) and CVC Asia Pacific Ltd. halted talks to acquire Australian insurance broker AUB Group Ltd. for A$45 per share. The AUB board believes that the per-share price appropriately values the company in the current market environment.
– EQT's BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth Partnership SCSP agreed to make a majority investment in Sydney-based property technology company PropertyMe. Corrs and Deloitte advised EQT on the transaction, while Pier Capital, Jones Day and Alvarez & Marsal advised PropertyMe.
– Thoma Bravo LP completed its majority investment in software company Azul Systems Inc. Goodwin Procter LLP was legal adviser and William Blair was financial adviser to Thoma Bravo in the transaction, which was announced in mid-November. Kirkland & Ellis LLP was legal adviser to Azul, while Guggenheim Securities LLC was its financial adviser.
TOP FUNDRAISING
– WindRose Health Investors LLC, which invests in healthcare services companies, raised US$2.6 billion at the close of its seventh fund. WindRose Health Investors VII LP closed on its hard cap and exceeded the size of its US$1.4 billion predecessor fund.
– Expedition Growth Capital Ltd. raised US$375 million at the final close of Expedition Growth Capital III LP. The firm invests in domain-expert software and AI companies.
– Bravo Invest Srl raised €226 million at the first and final close of its third fund. Bravo Capital Partners III targets control investments in founder-led and family-owned businesses.
– Truelink Capital Management LLC seeks to raise US$1.5 billion for its second fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. The fund seeks to invest in tech-enabled services and industrial companies.
MIDDLE-MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
– Valsoft Corp. Inc. acquired Italian IT consulting company Open Software Srl. Chiomenti advised Valsoft on the deal, while Open Software was advised by Avvecomm and Profina.
– Kingswood Capital Management LP bought battery component maker Daramic LLC in a deal with Japan-based Asahi Kasei Corp.
– The Riverside Co. acquired Shine Development Inc., a franchiser of window and gutter cleaning services for residential and commercial properties. The company will be added to Riverside's portfolio company, Evive Brands LLC.
FOCUS ON: ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUMENT INVESTMENTS
Private equity- and venture capital-backed investments in electronic equipment and instruments have soared so far in 2025, driven by two multibillion-dollar deals in the sector, including CVC's announced acquisition of Smiths Detection.
Total deal value in the sector between Jan. 1 and Dec. 4 stood at US$10.86 billion, exceeding the full-year total of US$645.5 million in 2024, Market Intelligence data shows.
The number of deals as of Dec. 4 totaled 147, compared with 31 for full year 2024.
In another multibillion-dollar deal in the sector this year, KKR & Co. Inc. completed its tender offer for Tokyo-based Topcon Corp. in September. Topcon provides optical and precision measurement technologies for hardware product development and manufacturing.
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For further private equity deals, read our latest "In Play" report, which looks at potential private equity-backed M&A, including rumored transactions, each week.
For private debt news, see our latest private debt newsletter, issued twice per month.
