Good day and welcome to the WSJ Pro Private Equity newsletter. Today Laura Cooper brings us exclusive news on the first private-equity fund raised by Finback Investment Partners LLC, a new firm founded by Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and 2016 Republican presidential hopeful. The firm has closed on $350 million for its first fund, easily exceeding the $250 million target.

Next, Ted Bunker has the latest in the saga of troubled firm GPB Capital, which has been hit by fraud allegations from federal regulators and state authorities. The firm is selling Prime Automotive Group, a portfolio of car dealerships, to Group 1 Automotive Inc., a publicly traded company with a network of almost 190 dealerships world-wide.

Finally, Luis Garcia reports that two energy-industry veterans—Lance Langford and Bud Brigham—have launched a new venture to buy oil-producing fields. The firm, Langford Energy Partners, is seeking $400 million.

Now on to today's news...

Finback Investment Partners LLC, a private-equity firm co-founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, has closed on $350 million for its debut fund, Laura Cooper writes for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The maiden vehicle, Finback Investment Partners 2021 Fund LP, closed at its hard cap and surpassed its $250 million target, according to the Coral Gables, Fla.-based firm. Finback’s leadership team includes Mr. Bush; George Huber, Jack Oliver and Mr. Bush’s son, Jeb Bush Jr., who are all managing partners.

Private-equity firm GPB Capital Holdings LLC, currently facing fraud allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission and more than a half-dozen states, is selling its Prime Automotive Group of car dealerships for about $880 million, Ted Bunker writes for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The sale to Houston-based Group 1 Automotive Inc. by GPB Automotive Portfolio LP, the entity formed by the New York firm for its auto dealer assets, includes 30 stores and three collision repair shops in mid-Atlantic and Northeast markets, according to a regulatory filing Monday.

Former energy company leaders Lance Langford and Bud Brigham have set up a private-equity firm, Langford Energy Partners, that is seeking to raise $400 million to buy and run producing oil fields, touting it as the best strategy to replace the once-popular lease-and-flip approach, Luis Garcia reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. Mr. Langford, the chief executive of Langford Energy, is a co-founder of Luxe Energy LLC, which Dallas-based private-equity firm NGP Energy Capital Management backed in 2015 and combined with another shale driller, Camino Natural Resources LLC, last year. Mr. Brigham, Langford’s chairman, is also the founder and executive chairman of Brigham Minerals Inc., which invests in oil-and-gas mineral rights.

Shares in Chinese commercial-property developer Soho China Ltd. tumbled 35% Monday, after Blackstone Inc. abandoned a $3.3 billion takeover in the face of an unexpectedly long regulatory review, Elaine Yu and Jing Yang report for The Wall Street Journal. Soho China is controlled by two high-profile entrepreneurs, Pan Shiyi and his wife, Zhang Xin, and the deal's collapse marks the latest setback for the country's embattled business leaders.

CVC Capital Partners has agreed to merge with secondary investment specialist Glendower Capital in a deal that would create a firm with about €113 billion, equivalent to roughly $133.47 billion, or assets under management, according to a news release. London-based Glendower was spun out of Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm in 2017 and specializes in secondary private-equity deals, managing or advising funds backed by institutional and private investors. Glendower’s current management will continue to run the business as a standalone unit of CVC.

Battery Ventures said it has acquired Cambridgeshire, England-based Goodfellow, which supplies materials used in research and development, prototyping and specialized manufacturing. Goodfellow Sales Director Simon Kenney will succeed Stephen Aldersley as the company’s chief executive, while Mr. Aldersley will serve as a consultant to help the transition to new ownership. Meanwhile, Tom Reslewic, an executive-in-residence at Battery, will join as Goddfellow’s executive chairman to help grow the business and oversee potential future acquisitions, Battery said in a press release. Jesse Feldman, a general partner at Battery,  and Justin Rosner, a vice president at the firm, will join Goodfellow’s board.

Insight Partners led a $250 million investment in workforce management software maker Papaya Global Ltd., joined by Tiger Global Management and existing investors. The New York-based company focuses on systems to manage remotely situated workforces and saw its sales triple last year, according to a news release. The Series E investment round valued the company at about $3.7 billion.

Boston-based Berkshire Partners is recapitalizing Fast Growing Trees, a direct-to-consumer online retailer of trees and plants. Boston-based Cove Hill Partners will also back the company as a minority investor, according to a press release. Summit Park, a Charlotte, N.C.-based lower midmarket firm that has backed Fort Mill, S.C.-based Fast Growing Trees since 2018, will remain an investor in the company, the release stated.

Canadian pension manager Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board said it has agreed to buy a 33.4% interest in Greenstone, an insurance distributor in Australia and New Zealand. The Sydney-based company’s co-founder Gavin Donnelly, will exit his stake as a result of the deal, while the two other major shareholders, HIBV and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, will retain stakes in the company, according to a news release.

Shares in German online pet-supply retailer Zooplus AG rose on Monday after Hellman & Friedman raised its offer to take the company private to €460, or about $543.28, a share from the €390 offered in August, Cecilia Butini reported for Dow Jones Newswires. The San Francisco buyout shop’s latest offer values the Munich-based company at about €3.88 billion.

Insight Partners led a $140 million investment in software-as-a-service company Copado Inc., backing the Chicago-based company alongside SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2, Declaration Partners and DG Ventures as well as existing investors. The Series C round values the company at almost $1.2 billion. Copado’s products are used by businesses to ease the transition to digital operations

Thomas H. Lee Partners said it has acquired a majority stake in House of Design LLC, which provides robotic automation systems and software for the residential construction market.

Oaktree Capital Management has agreed to acquire a roughly 26% stake in an automotive products subsidiary of ABC Group Canada LP from Cerberus Capital Management for about 124.7 million Canadian dollars, equivalent to about $98.2 million. Oaktree is buying almost 13.9 million shares of publicly traded ABC Technologies Holdings Inc. at C$9 each under the agreement. ABC Technologies makes specialized plastics for cars and trucks.

KKR & Co. is offering to take private Norwegian ship owner and lease manager Ocean Yield ASA for the equivalent of $829.9 million, Dominic Chopping reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The 41 krone-per-share cash offer represents a 26% premium to Ocean’s closing price on Friday and is backed by the company’s largest shareholder, Aker ASA, which owns nearly 62% of the equity.

Auster Capital has invested in activewear company Oceansapart, the firm announced. The firm invested alongside the founders, existing owners and Altor Fund V, among others. Founded in 2018, the Berlin-based Oceansapart makes non-competitive apparel including leggings, bras and hoodies.

Cerberus Capital Management is acquiring and combining mattress makers and retailers Brooklyn Bedding LLC in Phoenix and Helix Sleep Inc. in New York. The new holding company for both will be led by John Merwin, Brooklyn Bedding’s chief executive, while the three co-founders of Helix will lead the direct-to-consumer segment of the business.

Clean-energy infrastructure specialist New Energy Capital Partners has agreed to be acquired by multistrategy asset manager Victory Capital Holdings Inc. Hanover, N.H.-based NEC would be Victory’s first operating unit focused exclusively on alternative investments. The San Antonio-based acquirer has about $162.9 billion in assets under management and operates 10 investment businesses, including mutual funds, electronically traded funds, separately managed accounts and retirement and college savings plans.

Canadian investment firm SOL Global Investments Corp. is setting up a specialized unit called House of Lithium to invest in battery-making and related businesses. The Toronto-based firm plans to shift current assets into the new unit and then take it public.

Lower midmarket specialist Sentinel Capital Partners is backing management services provider Midwest Eye Consultants in Wabash, Ind., according to a news release. The company works with optometrists and ophthalmologists in Indiana and Ohio.

Clarion Capital Partners has invested in auto loan provider OpenRoad Lending LLC, backing the company alongside Chris Goodman, founder and chief executive. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company specializes in refinancing car loans as well as loan origination.

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A blank-check company tied to Motive Partners has agreed to combine with private securities market provider Forge Global Inc., Alexander Osipovich reports for The Wall Street Journal. The deal with Motive Capital Corp would bring the San Francisco-based company public with an initial value of about $2 billion, according to a news release. The deal includes about $414 million raised by Motive Capital in an initial public offering of shares in December as well as a $68.5 million private placement that includes Temasek and Adit Ventures.

Golden Gate Capital and Singapore’s GIC have agreed to retain the security business of information-services company Neustar Inc. in conjunction with their sale of Reston, Va.-based Neustar’s marketing, risk and communications operations to strategic buyer TransUnion for about $3.1 billion. Neustar’s Sterling, Va.-based security business has about 235 employees and more than 2,400 customers for its cloud-based security products. Golden Gate agreed to take Neustar private for about $1.8 billion plus debt in December 2016. TransUnion’s purchase was initially reported by Cara Lombardo in The Wall Street Journal.

H.I.G. Capital has sold shower and bath component maker Fiora Bath Collections SL in Spain to strategic buyer The Engineered Stone Group. The Miami-based buyout firm acquired a majority stake in the company in 2018. London investment firm Cranemere Group formed ES Group to invest in makers of washbasins, shower stalls, bathtubs and other fixtures.

KKR & Co. is selling a roughly 20% stake in retailer Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc., which operates stores in 16 mainly southern and Midwest states and went public in October 2020. The New York buyout shop is selling more than 18.6 million shares in a secondary offering of the Katy, Texas-based retailer’s stock at a proposed price of no more than $42.26 per share, making the stake worth about $788 million, according to a regulatory filing. KKR initially backed the company in 2011.

General Atlantic-backed payments software company EngageSmart LLC plans to sell 13 million shares for $23 to $25 each in an initial public offering, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The Braintree, Mass.-based company expects to raise about $287.5 million, or as much as $301.5 million if the underwriters exercise overallotment options. General Atlantic would still hold more than 60% of EngageSmart’s equity, while fellow backer Summit Partners will own about 16.7%. The company plans a New York Stock Exchange listing under the ESMT ticker symbol.

Grey Mountain Partners has sold plastics manufacturer Dimex LLC to strategic buyer ​​Westlake Chemical Corp. Grey Mountain initially backed the Marietta, Ohio-based company in 2013.

Technology-focused Diversis Capital Management has closed its second flagship fund on $675 million of commitments, exceeding its $500 million target in around three months, according to a news release. The Los Angeles firm invests in software and technology-enabled services businesses. Evercore Inc.’s private funds group acted as placement agent.

Nordic venture-capital firm Crowberry Capital announced it has launched a $90 million fund. It is Crowberry’s second fund, following the €33.5 million (about $40 million) debut vehicle, from 2017. The firm makes seed and early-stage investments in Nordic companies.

Brighton Park Capital, an investment firm focused on backing growth-stage software, healthcare and tech-enabled services businesses, said that Usman Rabbani has joined the firm as a partner based in Silicon Valley. Mr. Rabbani joins from KKR & Co. where he was a managing director that oversaw the firm’s software and technology operating team, Brighton Park said in a press release.

FTV Capital, a growth investment firm focused on enterprise technology and services, financial services, and payments and transaction processing companies, said it has promoted Richard Liu to partner at the firm. Mr. Liu joined the firm in 2014 and has played a key role in growing its enterprise technology and tech enabled services practice, the firm said in a press release.

Genstar Capital has added Charles Goldman to its strategic advisory board, according to an emailed news release. He was most recently president and chief executive of wealth-management services provider AssetMark Financial Holdings Inc. in Concord, Calif. Genstar sold AssetMark in 2016 and it became a publicly traded company in 2019. Mr. Goldman stepped down as CEO and president in March.

50 South Capital Advisors, the general partner of the newly formed North Dakota Growth Fund, appointed Kodee Furst as a director in its private-equity group. She will source and evaluate deals, with a focus on North Dakota. 50 South Capital, a subsidiary of Northern Trust, launched the Growth Fund to invest up to $100 million over a five-year period in businesses and startups in the state.

Brevan Howard Asset Management has named Colleen Sullivan to lead its investments in cryptocurrencies and related businesses, according to an emailed news release. She is joining from CMT Digital, which she co-founded and led as chief executive. Ms. Sullivan will also chair the investment committee of a new unit, BH Digital, which the U.K. firm is setting up to oversee its cryptocurrency and digital asset holdings.

House Democrats expect to propose raising the corporate tax rate to 26.5% from 21% and imposing a 3% surtax on individual income above $5 million, Richard Rubin reports from Washington for The Wall Street Journal, citing a House Democratic aide familiar with the plans. The plan also calls for  increasing the top capital-gains tax rate to 28.8% from 23.8%. The tax increases would be part of the House Ways and Means Committee's plans to pay for the party's priorities in a fast-moving budget bill. Those items include an expanded child tax credit, a national paid-leave program and renewable-energy tax breaks.

Opening statements were delivered Monday in the case against John Wilson, a private-equity investor accused of fraud and bribery conspiracy, as the first trial tied to the Varsity Blues college-admissions scandal began in Boston, Melissa Korn and Jennifer Levitz reported for The Wall Street Journal.

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