Good morning! We start the week with a story that shows the watchful eye that Iowa’s insurance regulators keep on private-credit deals. More life-insurance money is parked in Iowa than any other state, and a larger share is managed by private-credit firms, the Journal’s Heather Gillers writes.

In another story, three Women to Watch honorees share their views on how artificial intelligence is shaping their respective firms’ investment activities.

Now onto the news..

The marriage between insurers and private assets is entering a critical stage and Iowa’s insurance commissioner Doug Ommen is arguably the most important regulator for the insurance industry. More life-insurance money is parked in Iowa than any other state, and a larger share is managed by private-equity firms like Apollo Global Management and its rivals than anywhere else. It is Ommen’s job to make sure those investments are as safe as advertised—a task with higher stakes than ever as the private-credit sector comes under new pressure.

WSJ Pro Private Equity asked three of this year’s senior dealmaker Women to Watch honorees to describe how artificial intelligence is shaping both investments and internal operations at their respective firms. One of the main takeaways from those conversations was that AI accelerates data collection tasks, but does not replace human judgement. It also can help firms bolster portfolio companies, both technology-based and more traditional businesses.

As more women rise through the industry ranks, they shape not only the cultures of their own firms but also the industry itself. Join us for a conversation with some of our past and present Women to Watch honorees, as we discuss issues female professionals face building their careers, as well as some of the emerging themes that stand to shape dealmaking as the year unfolds. Register here to join the webinar at 1 p.m. ET March 26.

America’s banks are dusting off their spending wish lists, The Wall Street Journal reports. After scoring a victory with regulators, lenders are preparing to put billions of dollars in potentially freed-up capital to use. Their top priorities aren’t complicated: make more loans, invest in their businesses, give money back to shareholders and strike deals.

Venture investor Series X Capital has led a $300 million investment in Verily Life Sciences, a data and technology company focused on AI-enabled precision health. As part of the deal, Alphabet will become a minority stakeholder in Verily, which is changing its name to Verily Health.

European firm IK Partners has acquired a majority stake in Domek Group, a Dutch financial services intermediary, from Dutch midmarket private-equity firm Capital A. Domek’s founders and management team have reinvested in the company as part of the transaction.

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

Ecolab on Friday confirmed it will buy data-center cooling company CoolIT Systems from private-equity firm KKR for $4.75 billion in cash, Colin Kellaher writes for Dow Jones Newswires. The Journal on Thursday reported that Ecolab, a St. Paul, Minn., provider of water, hygiene and infection-prevention products, was nearing a deal to buy CoolIT for between $4.5 billion and $5 billion. Ecolab said it will fund the acquisition of CoolIT, which expects to generate about $550 million in sales over the next 12 months, with new debt.

Private equity-backed Foundation Consumer Healthcare has inked a deal to sell a portfolio of brands that include Breathe Right nasal strips to publicly traded Prestige Consumer Healthcare for roughly $1.05 billion, Dow Jones Newswires’ Colin Kellaher reports. Juggernaut Capital Partners and Kelso & Co. formed Foundation Consumer Healthcare in 2020 to acquire a portfolio of seven over-the-counter pharmaceutical brands, including Breathe Right, from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

Hong Kong investment firm Blue Pool Capital has raised $1 billion for its first private-equity fund, a significant haul in a tough fundraising environment for the sector, the Journal reports, citing people familiar with the firm. Blue Pool also runs the family office and operating assets of Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai.

Treville Capital Management has wrapped up its debut capital-solutions fund and a related vehicle with a total of more than $500 million in commitments, including co-investments. Treville Capital Solutions Fund backs businesses in various sectors through senior secured loans, junior debt and preferred equity investments.

GTCR has named Donnie Phillips as managing director and chief administrative officer at the Chicago-based firm. Phillips previously spent 12 years at Citadel Securities, where he most recently served as managing director of finance.

Michael Piowar, a former acting chairman and commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been named the executive director for the The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, according to an emailed news release.

Failure to agree on asset valuations was the most common reason preventing private-equity transactions last year, according to a survey that consulting firm Bain & Co. and private-market investor StepStone Group recently conducted with 103 private-equity dealmakers and investor-relations professionals across North America and Europe. More than a third, or 36%, of respondents selected sellers’ price expectations as the “biggest deal killer,” followed by diligence red flags (33%), competitive intensity (25%) and macro uncertainty (6%), the survey showed.

Send us your tips, suggestions and feedback. Write to:

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