Good day Pro readers! As we head into the weekend, our own Ted Bunker has an update on the continuing saga involving StraightPath Venture Partners, which is facing fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission. As Ted reports, court-appointed receiver Melanie Cyganowski is telling investors in StraightPath’s pre-IPO investment funds to expect statements by April 19 detailing what her team has determined to be the amount each investor has at stake. Meanwhile, higher oil-and-gas prices have opened a window for private-equity firms to exit oil-and-gas holdings, particularly in the Permian Basin. As Luis Garcia writes, NGP Energy Capital Management is among the firms looking to sell Permian assets while that exit window remains open. Finally, our Wall Street Journal colleagues report on two large utility companies that are weighing the potential sales of portions of their natural gas pipelines.

Read on for more and have a great weekend!

StraightPath Venture Partners investors may see a glimmer of light signaling the eventual return of at least some of the capital sunk into what regulators have characterized as a fraudulent operation, Ted Bunker reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. Court-appointed receiver Melanie Cyganowski is telling investors in StraightPath’s pre-IPO investment funds to expect statements by April 19 detailing what her team has determined to be the amount each investor has at stake and providing 45 days to dispute the amount. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil fraud charges against StraightPath and four people involved in starting and running the firm, saying that it had collected at least $410 million from more than 2,200 investors. All the defendants have denied the allegations.

A potential sale of two oil-and-gas producers backed by NGP Energy Capital Management would further reduce private-equity firms’ presence in the Permian Basin as publicly traded energy companies vie for their remaining assets there, Luis Garcia reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The Dallas energy-focused firm is seeking to sell its portfolio companies Tap Rock Resources LLC and Hibernia Resources III LLC, according to people familiar with the matter. The process is in its early stages and asset prices haven’t been determined yet, the people said.

Two of the country’s largest utility companies are weighing potential sales of parts of their natural-gas pipeline networks as efforts to phase out in-home gas use accelerate, Katherine Blunt, Laura Cooper and Jimmy Vielkind write for The Wall Street Journal. Dominion Energy Inc.  is considering selling its gas-distribution companies serving North Carolina, Ohio and parts of the Western U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. Combined, the assets could be worth as much as $13 billion, some of the people said, though they are unlikely to be sold all together. Meanwhile, National Grid PLC is exploring a possible sale of part of its pipeline network serving the Northeast as lawmakers there look to curtail fossil-fuel use, according to people familiar with the matter. One option under discussion at the British utility company is to sell a minority interest in the network, some of the people said.

On April 25, we will be discussing the prospects for private credit in a virtual event. Private credit has been booming for 20 years, but we will be looking at how lending, borrowing and investing in the asset class could be affected by rising interest rates and higher risk. Speakers include Jean Hsu of the California Public Employees Retirement System and Spyro Alexopoulos of Golub Capital. You can register here.

Buyout firm KKR & Co. is nearing a deal to acquire a stake in financial and crisis communications company FGS Global Inc. from WPP PLC, the world’s biggest advertising agency, the Financial Times reported. New York-based KKR is reportedly negotiating for a 30% stake in the business, to be acquired from WPP and group employees, at a valuation of about $1.4 billion, the newspaper said. WPP owns a roughly 57% stake in the group and plans to retain a majority stake.

Thoma Bravo has wrapped up its take-private of digital investigative tools supplier Magnet Forensics Inc., completing a deal that valued the company at about 1.8 billion Canadian dollars, equivalent to about $1.33 billion. Thoma is combining the company with Grayshift LLC, which it has controlled since last July.

Hunter Point Capital in New York is backing European midmarket firm Inflexion with a passive minority investment, according to a news release. London-based Inflexion manages about £8 billion, equivalent to about $9.97 billion. Hunter Point, which had almost $3.12 billion under management at the end of last year, said it expects to work with Inflexion to help it expand the companies it backs.

Private investment firm Centerbridge Partners and industrial real-estate developer Dalfen Industrial are forming a joint venture to acquire industrial outdoor storage projects across the U.S., according to a news release. The joint venture also announced its first acquisition in Oakland, Calif.

Great Range Capital in Mission Woods, Kan., said it has acquired commercial roofing contractor Roofed Right America LLC from founder-owners Adam Brissman and Ricardo Herrera, who remain as major investors and the company’s chief executive and chief operating officer, respectively. The Milwaukee-based business operates across the Midwest and Eastern U.S., according to a news 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.

Lincolnshire Management Inc. said it has closed the sale of Nursery Supplies Inc. to midmarket private-equity firm Mill Point Capital, according to a press release. Lincolnshire acquired the manufacturer and recycler of plastic plant and horticulture containers in 2005.

Coller Capital said it has held a first close for its Coller Capital Secondaries RMB I Fund, which the firm said is the first yuan-denominated secondaries fund in China to be raised by a global firm with local institutional investor support. Coller said it has a target of 1.5 billion renminbi, equivalent to about $218 million, for the vehicle, which will be used to provide liquidity to investors in China’s private markets, according to an emailed announcement.

Kensington Capital Partners in Toronto said it has collected more than 150 million Canadian dollars, or about $111.5 million, so far for its Kensington Venture Fund III, which has reached its first close. The firm said it has a C$290 million target for the vehicle, which it plans to invest through a hybrid strategy of backing other investment funds and directly investing in technology businesses.

Multi-strategy investment firm S2G Ventures, part of the Builders Vision investment group started and led by Lukas Walton, said it aims to invest in businesses that are making a positive social or environmental impact through its new $300 million special opportunities fund. Chicago-based S2G, with about $2 billion in capital, specializes in investing in the food, agriculture, marine and clean-energy sectors and has made six deals out of the new vehicle so far, according to a news release. Mr. Walton, the Builders chief executive, is a grandson of Walmart Inc. founder Sam Walton and is the wealthiest resident of Illinois, worth an estimated $21.2 billion, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday, citing Forbes.

ArcLight Capital Partners in Boston said it has added Anthony Haines as a senior adviser and member of the firm’s board, focusing on the power and utility infrastructure sectors. Mr. Haines is currently president and chief executive of Toronto Hydro Corp., which distributes electricity in North America.

Blackstone Inc.’s Nadim El Gabbani, a senior managing director, left the firm last month, according to his LinkedIn page. His departure from Blackstone was reported earlier by Bloomberg News.

HarbourView Equity Partners in Newark, N.J., said it has brought on Carlos Cruz as a managing director and head of capital markets. He joins from Fifth Third Bank, where he focused on media and technology in the investment-banking division, according to a news release.

Supply-chain-focused private-equity firm Red Arts Capital has added Mary Murphy as an operating partner and Abishai Pinto as a senior associate, according to a news release. Ms. Murphy previously oversaw a sales and operating center that generated more than $220 million in annual gross revenue at C.H. Robinson Worldwide, according to a press release. Mr. Pinto, meanwhile, previously worked as a senior associate at Capital Southwest Corp., where he focused on private credit origination.

Turning Rock Partners, a New York-based private-equity firm, has hired Guantong "GT" Sun as senior vice president of investor relations, according to a press release. Mr. Sun previously served as vice president of client relations at alternative investment firm Pretium Partners.

Moelis & Company said it has appointed Chrystalle Anstett as a managing director in its Private Funds Advisory team. She will lead the advisory and management of fundraises on a global basis. Ms. Anstett joins from private credit firm Sound Mark Partners, where she was head of capital formation and co-chief operating officer, according to a news release.

Prices of bonds backed by commercial mortgages have recently dropped to levels not seen since the early days of the pandemic, pointing to a growing economic threat stemming from office vacancies and rising interest rates, Sam Goldfarb reports for The Wall Street Journal. A small corner of the U.S. bond market, so-called commercial-mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS, have taken a beating for over a year owing to fears that owners of business parks, high-rises and other office properties could default on loans extended at a time of different work habits and lower financing costs.

Plans by two of China's biggest technology companies to sell shares in their subsidiaries could give a jolt of confidence to a Hong Kong IPO market that has been in the doldrums for more than a year, Dave Sebastian reports for The Wall Street Journal. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which is listed in Hong Kong and New York, said last week it would reorganize into six independently run companies and explore IPOs for them. Not long after, smaller rival JD.com Inc. filed paperwork in the Asian financial hub to sell shares in its property and industrial units, which The Wall Street Journal reported were aiming to raise about $1 billion each this year.

Movie fans have been trickling back to the cinema after the pandemic upheaval, but the financial pain has intensified for some of the largest theater-industry players, including Cineworld Group and AMC Entertainment.

America is aging, but many companies don’t want to hire older people. Some employers may subtly communicate through their wording in online help-wanted ads that older workers ought not apply. But including this demographic is important for maintaining a healthy labor market.

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

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