Hello, Pro readers! The countdown to Thanksgiving has begun and the news cycle here in the U.S. typically starts to slow the closer the holiday gets. This year, the holiday slowdown is compounded by the overall slowdown in investment activity that has already been occurring, at least at the upper end of the market. However, this morning, we have news that highlights the ongoing fundraising and investing at the smaller end of the size spectrum. As Maria Armental writes, a group of growth investors have backed a $50 million commitment to workforce management software company WorkJam Inc. On the fundraising front, San Diego-based Seaside Equity Partners has held a first closing for its second fund that takes the fund nearly to its $225 million target, as I report this morning. Finally, our Wall Street Journal colleagues write about cryptocurrency company Genesis Global Capital's ongoing quest to raise cash. 

Dive in for all the details…

Canadian growth investors Inovia Capital and Fonds de solidarité FTQ are leading a $50 million commitment to WorkJam Inc., whose mobile technology is used to help workers take training courses, swap shifts or even seek a pay advance, Maria Armental reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The investment, which also included participation by new investor Demopolis Equity Partners and existing backer Blumberg Capital, valued WorkJam at more than $500 million, said Steven Kramer, a company co-founder and its chief executive. He said the company will use the latest cash infusion for product development and international expansion. Hourly shift workers in grocery stores and other retailers, nurses and hotel employees are among those who use the Montreal-based company’s smartphone-based system to manage schedules, engage in training sessions and communicate with colleagues and managers, according to the company’s website.

Seaside Equity Partners, founded by a former managing director and partner from alternative investment firm Wafra Inc., rounded up more than $218 million for the first closing of its second fund, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Laura Kreutzer writes, citing people familiar with the offering. The first closing puts the firm’s Seaside Equity Partners II strategy to back smaller companies near a $225 million goal, the people said. They added that the firm aims to wrap up fundraising for the offering across two parallel vehicles well above the target before year-end.

Cryptocurrency firm Genesis Global Capital is still trying to raise cash and has approached crypto exchange Binance and private-equity giant Apollo Global Management in its quest, our colleagues at The Wall Street Journal report. Binance decided not to invest, fearful that some of Genesis’s business could create a conflict of interest down the line, according to a person familiar with the matter.

RedBird Capital Partners said it is backing Hollywood luminaries Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the formation of Artists Equity, which is led by Mr. Affleck as chief executive and Mr. Damon as chief content officer. RedBird described Artists Equity as an intellectual property monetization platform that provides a structure to share profits with all those who participate in a production, based on performance. The Los Angeles-based studio plans to work with established and emerging filmmakers and to use proprietary databases to guide decision making. The studio’s first project is a film directed by Mr. Affleck and starring Mr. Damon with a release expected next year.

Spectrum Equity in Boston led a $35 million growth investment in marketing partnership tracker SponsorUnited Inc., according to a news release. The firm joins Milwaukee Bucks basketball team owner Marc Lasry and San Diego Padres baseball team co-owner Ron Fowler in backing the Stamford, Conn.-based company.

Bain Capital-controlled Surgery Partners Inc., a publicly traded healthcare provider, said it is raising funds to reduce debt in a move that includes a $225 million private placement from the Boston-based firm. The Brentwood, Tenn.-based operator of ambulatory care and surgical centers plans to sell $575 million common shares in a public offering that could increase by as much as $86.25 million if underwriters exercise their full options to sell more. The company plans to offer the shares at $24.50 each and expects to close the offering on Wednesday. Bain Capital’s private placement would be made at the same price, the company said.

Beringer Capital, a private-equity firm focused on the technology, marketing and information industries, has invested in VeraData Holdings LLC, Fort Myers, Fla.-based fundraising data, analytics and technology platform that caters to non-profit organizations, according to a press release.

Our add-on deal interactive tool allows you to sort and analyze volumes of add-on deal data compiled by WSJ Pro. View more.

Midmarket focused Palm Beach Capital said it has fully exited its holdings in publicly-traded Cadre Holdings Inc. and has realized proceeds equal to 9.3 times the firm’s investment in the company. Palm Beach Capital initially backed the safety equipment manufacturer in 2012 as part of a corporate carveout from BAE Systems PLC, according to a press release. The company went public last year, the release stated.

Apollo Global Management Inc. has raised $2.4 billion for Apollo Accord+ Fund, a multi-asset opportunistic credit fund, according to a press release issued by the firm. One investor that has disclosed a commitment to the fund is the State of Michigan Retirement System, according to pension documents. The new fund primarily targets investments in performing, dislocated, privately originated and asset-backed credit opportunities from across Apollo’s credit platform, the press release stated.

NovaQuest Capital Management has rounded up at least $116 million so far for NovaQuest Animal Health Opportunities Fund LP and a related parallel fund, according to a regulatory filing. The Raleigh, N.C.-based firm is seeking $250 million for the fund, the filing indicates. Healthcare-focused NovaQuest’s animal health strategy typically makes equity, equity-like, and product finance investments in animal health products, including, among others, therapeutic drugs, nutritional health, diagnostics, and genetics, according to the firm’s website.

Publicly traded digital infrastructure company Applied Digital Corp. said it is forming a fund focused on acquiring distressed cryptocurrency assets, which may include mining hardware and digital infrastructure assets. The fund seeks to raise up to $100 million from outside investors and will be managed by Highland Digital, a joint venture between Applied Digital and New Delhi-based global infrastructure company GMR Ltd., according to a press release.

H.I.G. Capital in Miami said it has added three professionals in its London office to work with client partnerships, including Daniel Rosenthal Ayash and Micael Hagelin as managing directors and Bernice Berschader as a principal. Mr. Ayash joins from Eaton Partners, Mr. Hagelin from New End Associates and Ms. Berschader comes aboard from Castlelake.

Vista Equity Partners has hired Greg Galligan as a senior managing director in its private-credit unit to manage its direct lending, according to an emailed news release. He joins the Austin, Texas, firm from Ares Management Corp., where he was a partner in its U.S. direct lending operations.

Two venture investors that remain shareholders in Sensei Biotherapeutics Inc. are urging it to return cash to shareholders as shares of the biotechnology company have fallen sharply since its initial public offering last year, Brian Gormley writes for WSJ Pro Venture Capital. Their challenge to Sensei is an unusual instance in which a dispute between a biotech company and large shareholders spills out of the boardroom and into the public. Boston-based Sensei went public in February 2021 after raising venture capital from Apeiron Investment Group and Presight Capital and other investors on the promise of a cancer drug that was in clinical trials.

Private-equity firms are starting to put the brakes on hiring, with at least two large buyout shops putting hiring freezes in place, Sebastian McCarthy reports for Private Equity News. “It's the first time we’ve seen hiring freezes since before Covid,” said Charlie Hunt, director of the UK at private-equity recruitment firm PER. With macroeconomic uncertainty cooling debt markets and putting many new deals on ice, private-equity firms are starting to re-evaluate their recruitment plans for the year ahead. The slowdown follows two years of frantic recruitment by firms in need of more staff as they struck a record $1.1 trillion in deals last year, according to a Bain & Co. report.

Customers of beleaguered crypto exchange FTX are losing hope they will ever see their money again, Caitlin McCabe and Rachel Louise Ensign report for The Wall Street Journal. The company’s massive financial problems began spilling into the open early this month, and FTX was quick to halt withdrawals from its international unit. American customers had hoped they might be luckier, but many of them haven’t been able to get their money out either. Where the money could be—and whether it will ever arrive—is anyone’s guess.

Credit-focused Hildene Capital Management said it has formed a re-insurer, Ludlow Re SPC Ltd., in the Cayman Islands and has agreed to back about $1 billion of fixed index annuity reserves for a life insurance company in the U.S. Stamford, Conn.-based Hildene said Ludlow Re received a Cayman Islands Monetary Authority license in September.

The Rohatyn Group has agreed to acquire Africa-focused investment management firm Ethos Private Equity, which manages some $1.7 billion in assets, according to a press release. Ethos focuses on private-equity and mezzanine deals and has backed more than 150 investments in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a press release.

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Maria Armental; Ted Bunker; Chris Cumming; Luis Garcia; Rod James; Laura Kreutzer; Chitra Vemuri.

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