Welcome back. Officials on Wednesday again held the benchmark federal-funds rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%, citing elevated inflation and uncertainty from the conflict in the Middle East.

Investors are closely watching any potential rate cuts, which would lower the cost of borrowing and boost valuation multiples, but are also looking for investing opportunities. Volatility, as it turns out, can be very good for some businesses.

Against this backdrop, GTCR is launching a data and analytics company to serve global commodity and industrial markets. Avelis Holdings launches with an initial earmark of $500 million and will be led by Brian Crotty, former CEO of OPIS and former executive vice president and general manager of Dow Jones Energy.

And Luis Garcia brings us Blackstone’s next AI move: Jas Khaira, a senior managing director, will head Blackstone N1, or BXN1, a new unit that will invest in AI and other fast-growing tech sectors.

Finally, our WSJ Pro colleague Alicia McElhaney got the scoop on Brown Advisory Group's deal for investment and advisory firm RockCreek Group.

We have these and more. Read on…

Private-equity firm GTCR is launching a commodity and industrial markets data analytics company to capitalize on the growing importance of data-based insights amid market volatility and artificial-intelligence disruption. The Chicago-based firm is allocating some $500 million to build the new company, which will initially be named Avelis Holdings, according to Managing Director Mark Anderson, who leads the private-equity firm’s technology, media and telecommunications group.

Blackstone took one more step to extend its already massive bet on artificial intelligence by forming a new unit to integrate the private-equity firm’s new and some of its existing investments in AI technologies, after pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into data-center development, associated power plants and other infrastructure for AI expansion, Luis Garcia writes for WSJ Pro. The New York-based asset manager designated Jas Khaira, a senior managing director, as global head of Blackstone N1, or BXN1, a newly created unit dedicated to investing in AI and other fast-growing technology sectors, according to an internal memo viewed by WSJ Pro Private Equity. 

Brown Advisory Group has struck a strategic partnership with RockCreek Group, an investment and advisory firm founded in 2003 by former World Bank Group executive Afasaneh Beschloss, Alicia McElhaney reports for WSJ Pro, citing a regulatory filing and a person familiar with the deal. RockCreek managed more than $14 billion of discretionary assets at the end of last year, according to a March regulatory filing. Based in Baltimore, Brown manages assets of about $173.5 billion.

Ares Management has acquired a roughly 32% stake in the Rover Pipeline, a natural gas transmission system, from Blackstone’s energy transition partners strategy. The pipeline’s footprint spans about 700 miles across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan, with transportation capacity of nearly 3.43 billion cubic feet a day. Blackstone acquired the stake in 2017.

Thrive Capital and J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners joined a $160 million growth investment in finance software developer Rogo, through a transaction led by venture firm Kleiner Perkins. Rogo's agentic artificial-intelligence system is used by financial institutions to incorporate AI into their work processes.

The growth-equity strategy of the alternatives arm of Goldman Sachs led a $150 million growth investment in Aidoc, joined by others including General Catalyst. The company's artificial intelligence-driven analytics software supports clinical decision-making.

Healthcare-focused firm Archimed and Canadian pension investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, or La Caisse, have acquired blood analysis company Stago from its founding family. Archimed is backing the investment out of its MED Platform II fund, which closed in 2023 with €3.5 billion, or about $4.1 billion. Stago’s leadership team is taking a minority stake in the company as part of the transaction.

Pacific Equity Partners has made an offer for billboard operator oOh!media that values its equity at 746.9 million Australian dollars, or about $536.4 million, David Winning reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The company said PEP's offer is worth A$1.40 a share in cash and is conditional on the unanimous support of its directors. The company's shares surged nearly 33% Wednesday in Sydney to close at A$1.13 in reaction to the offer, which was disclosed late Tuesday.

OpenGate Capital has agreed to acquire the European and Middle Eastern business of Total Safety, a safety and compliance services and equipment provider owned by fellow private-equity firm Littlejohn & Co. Diepenbeek, Belgium-based Total Safety EMEA caters to the oil and gas and petrochemical industries.

Catchment Capital, a New York-based midmarket firm focused on industrial technology, products and services, has acquired a majority interest in Vertech Industrial Systems, a Phoenix-based company that designs and implements advanced automation and manufacturing systems for end markets that include data centers, energy, food and beverage, manufacturing, and water or wastewater. Catchment Capital was founded in 2024 by Managing Partner Alex Rose, former co-president of Crestview Partners.

Bregal Investments' Bregal Milestone unit is acquiring a majority stake in Corego, a Helsinki-based payments and access-control technology company designed to serve sponsors of festivals, sports events and related venues across Europe. The company serves around 250 customers across the Nordic and German-speaking regions of Europe.

Midmarket private-equity firm Montagu Private Equity in London is acquiring certification and business assurance services provider DQS Holding from a group that includes UL Solutions and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Qualität in Germany, which is retaining a minority stake. DQS provides certification and business assurance services for more than 20,000 clients across over 60 countries.

Bain Capital's venture strategy and the growth equity arm of Goldman Sachs's alternatives-investment group led a $150 million investment in marketing data company Hightouch in a transaction that valued the business at about $2.75 billion valuation. Other participants included Iconiq Capital and Amplify Partners.

One Investment Management and CC Capital Partners in New York have acquired Sydney-listed Insignia Financial at an enterprise value of about $3.9 billion Australian dollars, or about $2.8 billion. The firm oversees about A$342 billion.

Morgan Stanley's private-credit strategy is providing $875 million in senior debt financing to support Bridgepointe Technologies alongside a continuation fund led by Carlyle Group's AlpInvest secondaries strategy and an equity investment from existing backer Charlesbank Capital Partners and company management. San Mateo, Calif.-based Bridgepointe is an information technology consulting and services provider. Boston-based Charlesbank initially backed the company in 2021, according to the firm's website.

Fortress Investment Group plans to buy as much as $1.25 billion in consumer loans originated through Nasdaq-listed Upstart Holdings, which operates an online lending marketplace. Fortress intends to make the purchases under a forward-flow agreement over the next 15 months and extends a similar deal from last year.

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

Cinven- and Advent International-backed TK Elevator in Germany has agreed to be acquired by Finnish rival Kone for almost $24 billion in a deal that would create the world’s biggest elevator maker by sales, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kone will pay TK Elevator’s owners—a group led by Advent and Cinven—around €5 billion in cash and €15.2 billion in stock. Including debt, the enterprise value of the deal is about €29.4 billion, or roughly $34.4 billion. Advent and Cinven first backed TK Elevator when it was spun out from manufacturer Thyssenkrupp, buying it for over €17 billion in 2020.

Oaktree Capital Management has sold nuclear and power engineering business Enercon to Pond & Co., a design and engineering company backed by Arlington Capital Partners. The management teams of both Enercon and Pond have personally invested more than $100 million into the combined operations alongside Arlington. Oaktree acquired Enercon in 2023 from fellow private-equity investor AE Industrial Partners.

Trivest Partners is selling Miami Beef, which does business as Young American Food Brands, to fellow private-equity investor Falfurrias Management Partners in Charlotte, N.C. The company offers products that include ground meats, sausages and smoked goods to retail and foodservice customers. Coral Gables, Fla.-based Trivest initially backed the company in early 2022.

Crescent Cove Advisors has raised more than $446 million for Crescent Cove Fund IV, according to an emailed news release. Investors in the fund include the Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association and wealth-management firm Keebeck Wealth Management, according to the firm. Crescent Cove invests in special situation debt opportunities and also acquires equity interests mainly in lower midmarket technology companies, according to its website and a regulatory filing. Last year, the firm sold a 35% minority stake in itself to publicly traded multiasset manager Virtus Investment Partners.

MidOcean Partners has collected nearly $122.7 million so far for its second pool to back collateralized loan obligations it manages, MidOcean CLO Equity Fund II, a securities filing shows. The New York firm raised $304 million for the debut fund, which closed in late 2024. MidOcean invests in debt and equity, closing on $1.5 billion for its sixth buyout fund in early 2023. Across both equity and credit strategies, the firm managed about $12.2 billion at the end of last year, regulatory filings show.

European asset manager EQT AB has set up a retail-oriented vehicle under the European Union's long-term investment fund structure for illiquid assets. The EQT Nexus ELTIF Infrastructure fund allows lower minimum investments and is available to investors through banks and wealth advisers. Stockholm-based EQT set up a similar vehicle focused on private equity last year.

Ares Management has named partner Peter Ogilvie as chief operating officer, adding to his role as head of strategy. He joined the New York-listed firm in 2007 and has led its corporate strategy group, working on long-term direction, while also serving as a member of its operating committee.

Secondary firm Timber Bay Partners has hired Jason Wehby as its chief financial officer. Wehby previously served as CFO for registered investment adviser Hauser and private-equity fund-of-funds and co-investment fund manager Hauser Private Equity.

Greybull Stewardship has tapped Kevin Mohr as a CFO operating partner focused on helping the lower midmarket firm’s portfolio companies with financial processes, including reporting, strategic planning and forecasting. Mohr has served as CFO for numerous organizations, including most recently civil construction company the Dutra Group.

Credit-focused Brevet Capital has appointed Joan Hull as director of EB-5 capital development. She was most recently with CanAm Enterprises.

Star Mountain Capital in New York has added CNBC contributor and former news anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera as a senior adviser. She is also the founder and chief executive of media production company MCC Global Enterprises.

Media investor ZMC Advisors has added Sally Knutson as chief financial officer and operating partner to work with portfolio companies and leadership teams. She was previously CFO of ZMC-backed Cast & Crew.

A majority of 102 institutional investors surveyed by Bloomberg Intelligence, 57%, hold negative views on the entry of retail capital into private markets while just 22% said they had positive views. Nearly two-thirds of the investors polled said they aren't currently allocating capital to evergreen and semiliquid strategies, where individual investors already abound. About the same proportion cited deteriorating credit quality as the biggest concern regarding private-credit funds this year.

Blackstone evergreen vehicle Blackstone Private Credit Fund, known as BCRED, saw decelerating gross inflows in the first quarter, with the total amounting to $1.9 billion, while withdrawals rose to $3.2 billion, the firm said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. The vehicle generated a total return that while flat outperformed a Morningstar U.S. leveraged loan index by over a half percentage point. Looking ahead, Blackstone said it expects defaults to "normalize from historically low levels" after nonperforming loans increased to 2.4%, at cost, of BCRED's $80 billion portfolio. On a fair value basis, nonaccrual loans amount to 1.4% of the portfolio, the firm said.

Irish energy company DCC is the fourth member of the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index to receive a takeover approach so far this year, Joe Stonor writes for Dow Jones Newswires, citing commentary from AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. Private-equity firms Energy Capital Partners and KKR & Co. approached DCC Wednesday with a preliminary proposal, Ian Walker reports for the news service. Though the prospective price wasn't disclosed, the approach likely brings the total value of bids for listed U.K. companies this year to £29.7 billion, or roughly $40.15 billion, according to Mould. 

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