Happy Friday! As I head into the weekend, I’m preparing for my annual summer pilgrimage to the lakes region of New Hampshire, although unlike previous years, I will actually be packing my laptop  this time.

This week has been a memorable one for initial public offerings of private equity- or venture capital-backed companies with two blockbuster IPOs. In this morning’s newsletter, our own Maria Armental looks at one of those IPOs, which involves Firefly Aerospace, and its implications for private-equity backer AE Industrial Partners. Meanwhile, President Trump has finally signed a long-anticipated executive order that is expected to make it easier for Americans to invest their 401k retirement assets into private markets. We’ll see if it actually ends up driving more 401k dollars into private markets funds.

That’s it for me for a week! Please send all of your hot tips and juicy private-equity news items to my esteemed colleague Ted Bunker and have a great weekend.

AE Industrial Partners’ investment in space and defense technology company Firefly Aerospace just ballooned into a roughly $3.5 billion wager after the company’s shares climbed in their debut Thursday, WSJ Pro's Maria Armental reports. Firefly, which successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon in March, saw its stock surge 34% to close at $60.35 after pricing at $45. The gain put Firefly’s market value north of $8.4 billion, lifting the value of the private-equity firm’s stake—on paper. AE Industrial, Firefly’s largest shareholder with about 58.8 million shares as of July 19, will be one of the investors that receives some of the proceeds from the initial public offering.

An executive order President Trump signed Thursday is expected to make it easier for everyday Americans to invest their retirement savings in private-markets assets such as private equity and cryptocurrency, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move fulfills a long-sought goal of Wall Street hedge funds and private-equity firms, which for years have wanted to tap into the giant pool of money in 401(k) and other defined-contribution plans.

Technology investment firm K5 Global leads a group of investors that is buying a majority stake in HistoSonics, in a deal that values the company at $2.25 billion, WSJ Pro's Brian Gormley writes. Plymouth, Minn.-based HistoSonics offers a noninvasive therapy that uses focused ultrasound to mechanically destroy and liquefy tumors. HistoSonics raised a $102 million investment last year that valued the company at $600 million, according to HistoSonics Chief Executive Mike Blue.

Declaration Partners, a private investment firm backed by Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, has acquired a majority stake in CP Group, according to an emailed news release. San Diego-based CPG offers sorting equipment, systems and technology for the recycling and waste-management industries.

Private-equity firm VIG Partners in Korea is acquiring the aesthetics business of LG Chem for 200 billion Korean won, or roughly $144.4 million, Dow Jones Newswires reports, citing a statement from LG.

BlackRock's HPS Investment Partners has joined Charlesbank Capital Partners and Constellation Wealth Capital in backing financial planning and investment firm Lido Advisors. HPS made a "strategic investment" in the Los Angeles company, which manages more than $30 billion. BlackRock acquired credit-focused HPS last month.

One Equity Partners has agreed to invest in industrial services company Brown Root Industrial Services, while the company’s publicly listed owner KBR will retain a stake. Based in Baton Rouge, La., the company offers services that span industrial engineering, construction, maintenance and business turnarounds, as well as what are referred to as soft crafts, such as scaffolding, insulation, coatings that support infrastructure project development, maintenance or repair.

TowerBrook Capital Partners and Prelude Growth Partners are backing natural food manufacturer Amylu Foods. Chicago-based Amylu Foods offers chicken products, including sausages, meatballs and burgers, under its own brand as well as under private labels.

Shamrock Capital in Los Angeles has bought Penta Group, a communications, reputation-management and brand marketing company, from fellow private-equity firm Falfurrias Management Partners.

Lower midmarket-focused CCMP Growth Advisors has acquired heating, ventilation and plumbing company Airo Mechanical from investors led by Thomas Investments and Stephens Capital Partners. The Mooresville, N.C.-based company operates across the Southeastern U.S.

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

Healthcare-focused Deerfield Management has sold biopharmaceutical company Melinta Therapeutics to strategic buyer CorMedix for $300 million in cash and stock, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The total price could rise by as much as $25 million if Melinta reaches certain milestones. Deerfield acquired Melinta in 2020.

Bridgepoint Group-backed Energy Capital Partners in Summit, N.J., is recapitalizing HPS Investment Partners portfolio company Green Infrastructure Partners at an enterprise value of $4.25 billion. The deal is expected to deliver gross proceeds of $775 million to Green, which services provider GFL Environmental set up in 2022 alongside HPS, now owned by BlackRock. Green intends to return around $585 million from the deal to shareholders. New York- and Toronto-listed GFL expects to retain a roughly 30% stake in Green, with HPS and GFL founder Patrick Dovigi also maintaining minority interests.

Private-equity investor Carlyle AlpInvest closed its second collateralized fund obligation offering, totaling $1.25 billion. The transaction marks the Carlyle Group unit’s third securitization transaction. The underlying portfolio includes diversified exposure across the firm’s flagship private-equity secondaries, portfolio finance and co-investment strategies. A broad range of institutional investors, including insurance companies, asset managers and banks participated in the CFO.

Easterly Asset Management's maritime investment partner Easterly Clear Ocean aims to raise at least $250 million for its fifth investment vehicle, ECO Fleet Holdings V. The Beverly, Mass.-based firm formed ECO in 2021 to take advantage of opportunities and dislocations in international shipping markets.

Arclight Capital Partners in Boston has elevated Angelo Acconcia to president of the infrastructure investment specialist, which managed around $9.49 billion at the end of last year. Acconcia, an ArcLight partner, joined the firm in 2022 from Blackstone, where among other things he helped form the New York firm's energy strategy. As ArcLight president, he will oversee the firm's investment, fundraising and operational activities. Firm founder and principal owner Dan Revers remains managing partner overseeing investment strategy and capital allocations.

Trive Capital has elevated four executives to partner amid a flurry of other promotions. Named as partners are Tanner Cope, Andrew Frank, Joe McDougall and Brad Wiginton.

SoftBank Group credited a recovery in its technology-focused funds business as it made bolder investments in artificial intelligence for better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter profit, Kosaku Narioka reports for the Journal. The Japanese firm booked the equivalent of $2.86 billion in net profit for the period, which ended June 30, driven by gains in Nvidia, Coupang and Symbiotic, among others.

StepStone Group's fee-related earnings rose 13% to about $81.2 million in the first quarter of the firm's fiscal year 2026 while assets under management climbed almost 18% to $199.3 billion. But the New York firm tumbled to a net loss of $38.4 million, or 49 cents a share, for the period, compared with net income of $13.3 million, or 20 cents a share a year earlier. StepStone's revenue rose 95% to $364.3 million. The firm released its results after normal-hours Nasdaq trading had ended Thursday, with its shares closing at $57.45.

Asset manager GCM Grosvenor in Chicago reported a 6% gain in fee-related earnings, to about $41.6 million, in this year's second quarter while assets under management rose 9% to $85.93 billion from a year earlier. The firm's net income more than tripled to $15.4 million, or 5 cents a share, while revenue edged up 2% to $119.7 million. GCM shares rose nearly 2% on the Nasdaq stock market to close at $12 Thursday.

Brookfield is working with telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom on plans to build an artificial intelligence "gigafactory" in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Reuters reported, citing the company's chief executive. Speaking with reporters after the company's earnings call Thursday, CEO Tim Höttges said the company, which controls mobile phone services supplier T-Mobile, is also partnering with chip maker Nvidia on the project. Brookfield Asset Management executives said Wednesday that they plan to expand their data-center investment activities.

Multistrategy asset manager P10 in Dallas reported a 5.4% increase in fee-related earnings in this year's second quarter while assets under management of more than $40 billion included a 21% gain in fee-paying assets to about $28.9 billion. The firm whose operating units include private-equity fund managers Five Points Capital and Bonaccord Capital Partners said net income plunged 52% to about  $3.4 million, or 3 cents a share, while revenue crept up 2.3% to $72.7 million for the just-ended period from a year earlier. P10 shares were little changed, closing at $12.06 Thursday in New York.

Private fund manager Onex reported a narrower fee-related earning loss of about $2 million for this year's second quarter while distributable earnings sank nearly 72% to $21 million and fee-generating assets climbed about 25% to $40.94 billion for the period compared with a year earlier. The Toronto firm's net earnings jumped 36% to $229 million, or $3.30 a share, from $168 million, or $2.19 a share, reported earlier for the year-ago period.

Private-markets investment firm Stack Capital in Toronto has raised 35 million Canadian dollars, or roughly $25.5 million, in working capital and investable funds through private placements. The Toronto-listed firm said investors included Canaccord Genuity.

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

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