S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of global private equity news stories and more published throughout the week.
Complexity and illiquidity are the trade-offs for insurers seeking higher yields by adding exposure to private credit.
The 20 global insurers with the largest allocation to private credit collectively had US$80.43 billion invested in the asset class as of May 1, according to With Intelligence data. Individual allocations ranged from 11.3% to 35.5% of assets under management.
Public bond-beating yields and portfolio diversification are two reasons insurers are drawn to private credit. Those benefits are weighed against the lack of a deep secondary market, which can make it difficult to quickly generate liquidity, and the complexity of some private credit loans, which can make it more difficult to assess their risk.
That risk was underlined earlier this year when private credit fund managers including Blue Owl Capital Inc. reported a surge in redemption requests from investors unsettled by the potential for losses on loans to software companies. Blackstone Inc. likewise experienced elevated outflows from Blackstone Private Credit Fund, the retail private credit fund better known as BCRED, in the first quarter. Blackstone President Jonathan Gray said the activity was driven by "a smaller number of large investors" in the vehicle and did not represent a broad-based retreat.
Read more about global insurers' private credit exposures.
CHART OF THE WEEK: Investment in waste management soars on European megadeal
⮞ Private equity and venture capital investment in waste management totaled US$9.34 billion globally this year through May 17, surpassing any full-year total since 2021, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
⮞ A single megadeal announced in February is largely responsible for the surge: Blackstone Inc. and EQT AB (publ)'s planned US$6.64 billion acquisition of Spanish waste management business Urbaser SA from Platinum Equity LLC.
⮞ The volume of private equity waste management deals has declined every year since peaking at 107 transactions in 2022.
TOP DEALS
– Permira agreed to sell I-Med Holdings Pty. Ltd., an Australia-based diagnostic imaging provider, to Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. for an enterprise value of A$3.4 billion. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
– DigitalBridge Group Inc. agreed to acquire energy investor ArcLight Capital Partners LLC for about US$1.1 billion. The transaction requires Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp. to first finalize its acquisition of DigitalBridge.
– CVC Capital Partners PLC sold an 11.08% stake in Madrid-based gas company Naturgy Energy Group SA for €3.07 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Goldman Sachs Bank Europe. CVC, through Rioja Acquisition, sold the stake for €28.55 per share, a 4.6% discount to Naturgy's closing price on May 26.
TOP FUNDRAISING
– Hamilton Lane Inc. initiated fundraising for a new fund focused on general partner-led secondaries investments, with the first close expected before the end of 2026, according to With Intelligence. The firm is also raising capital for a seventh secondary fund, targeting more than US$5.6 billion in capital commitments.
– Altor Equity Partners AB aims to raise €3.25 billion for its seventh flagship buyout fund targeting lower-middle-market companies across the Nordics, as well as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, according to With Intelligence. The fund focuses on business services, consumer, financial services, industrial and technology sectors. The firm has so far raised approximately €555 million for the fund.
– Ampersand Capital Partners closed its 12th primary fund with US$1.5 billion in commitments. The oversubscribed fund will invest primarily in healthcare companies with US$10 million to US$200 million in revenue. McDermott Will & Schulte LLP provided legal services for the fundraise.
– BAI Capital raised US$600 million at the first close of its latest US dollar fund. The fund targets companies with commercial validation and cross-regional expansion potential across technology, AI, financial services, consumer, entertainment and business services sectors.
MIDDLE-MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
– Arsenal Capital Partners agreed to buy a majority stake in fastening company Velcro from the Cripps Foundation for an undisclosed amount. Cripps will retain a significant minority stake following the deal. Piper Sandler & Co. was financial adviser to Arsenal, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP was legal counsel. Greenhill was Velcro's financial adviser, and Mayer Brown LLP was legal counsel.
– Bain Capital LP agreed to sell a majority stake in Australia-based aged care home provider Estia Health Ltd. to Stonepeak Partners LP. The transaction is expected to close in late 2026.
– ECI Partners LLP agreed to acquire UK-based political intelligence provider Helio Intelligence Group Ltd. from Bridgepoint Group PLC and Bowmark Capital LLP. Bridgepoint will reinvest in Helio as a minority shareholder.
FOCUS ON: VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN EMERGING MARKETS
Venture capital investments in emerging markets surged to US$15.24 billion in the first quarter, double the US$7.62 billion recorded for the same period a year earlier, according to a Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) report covering emerging markets in Africa, Asia, central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
This mirrors the global trend, where venture capital funding rounds more than doubled to US$259.64 billion in the first quarter, according to Market Intelligence data.
China recorded US$8.98 billion in venture funding in the first quarter, up from US$2.56 billion in the same period a year earlier. More than 60% of the capital during the period was invested in AI, robotics and biotechnology startups as the country channeled state-backed capital toward strategic technology industries tied to self-sufficiency and industrial upgrading, GPCA said.
With Intelligence is a part of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
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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.
