Good morning! As one more earnings season for asset managers wraps up, WSJ Pro’s Isaac Taylor reports on Carlyle Group’s plans to expand its private-credit strategy in Europe, where the firm sees less competition for deals.

Our Wall Street Journal colleague P.R. Venkat has details on the initial public offering of Malaysian discount-store retailer Eco-Shop, which is backed by private-equity firm Creador. The Journal also reports on a potential “millionaire tax” increase that President Trump is reconsidering after having rejected the idea barely two weeks ago.

You’ll find those stories and more news below. Please, jump in...

Private-equity firm Carlyle Group is looking to expand its European presence as competition grows for U.S. private-credit deals and fundraising, WSJ Pro’s Isaac Taylor reports. The Washington-based multistrategy firm isn’t new to the region, but Europe has become a progressively more attractive target for a number of reasons, including tougher terms and documentation that benefit lenders as corporate borrowers have seen liquidity options decline. “Recently, our private-credit team has leaned into significant opportunities in European lending with less competition leading to strong relative value,” Carlyle Chief Executive Harvey Schwartz told analysts during a call to discuss the firm’s first-quarter results. “[European] private-credit deployment is up 150% year-over-year.”

Malaysian discount-store retailer Eco-Shop is set to price its initial public offering at the low end of its guidance range, valuing the company at close to $1.5 billion, P.R. Venkat reports for the Journal, citing people familiar with the situation. Investors in the business include Kuala Lumpur-based private-equity firm Creador, which controls around 10% of the company’s equity and is expected to sell most of its holdings, according to a prospectus filed with the Bursa Malaysia exchange.

Fifteen days after taking a marginal tax-rate increase off the table, President Trump put it back in play, the Journal reports. The president, who rejected a “millionaire tax” April 23, is now considering backing a tax structure that would return the top individual income-tax rate to 39.6% from 37% for those who make over $2.5 million, according to people familiar with White House discussions.

Early opponents of corporate influence in healthcare are spotting parallels in another trusted profession where private equity is making a push: accounting.

AI is changing the way we search online. Advertisers are already falling behind.

IBM has used AI to replace the work of a couple hundred human resources workers. As a result, it has hired more programmers and salespeople, and it promises higher total employment.

WeightWatchers, whose dieting and wellness programs were once a central part of U.S. fitness culture, has filed for bankruptcy to adjust to the increasing use of drugs for weight loss.

Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Toronto-listed communications company BCE have formed Network FiberCo to develop fiber-optic cable networks in the U.S. PSP Investments, as the board is known, will hold a 51% interest in Network FiberCo and has committed as much as $1.5 billion to the enterprise, contingent on BCE acquiring Ziply Fiber. BCE agreed to buy Kirkland, Wash.-based Ziply Fiber for about 5 billion Canadian dollars, or about $3.61 billion, plus around C$2 billion in debt, in November as a way to enter the U.S. broadband services market.

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec led an investment of 160 million Canadian dollars, or roughly $115.6 million, in Germain Hotels, joined by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Investissement Québec. Pension investment manager CDPQ has backed Germain for almost 15 years as it expanded across the country.

Private-equity firm TA Associates in Boston has agreed to acquire FD Technologies for £24.50 a share in a deal that values the London-listed software company at about £570 million, or roughly $757.6 million, Maitane Sardon reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Eligible stockholders can also opt for an equivalent amount of equity in the privatized company, up to an aggregate limit of 14.6 million shares.

Sofinnova Partners and Earlybird Venture Capital led a $65 million growth investment in biotechnology company HAYA Therapeutics. They were joined by others including Apollo Global Management’s health ventures strategy as well as strategic investors. The Swiss company is developing therapies for age-related conditions, among other things.

Bain Capital and Oliver Street Capital have acquired a group of 11 industrial properties, mainly located in northern New Jersey, for about $208 million from an unidentified seller. The 11 warehouses contain a combined 784,000 square feet and are 88% leased. Bain Capital and Oliver Street, both based in Boston, formed a joint venture to invest in real estate in 2019 and expanded its scope to include northern New Jersey in 2023.

Insight Partners in New York led a $50 million growth investment in beauty brand Wonderskin. The fresh capital is expected to help the Fair Lawn, N.J.-based company expand its retail operations and further develop key products.

Midmarket private-equity investor Diatonic Healthcare is backing Quantix Consulting with a growth investment. The company looks to help other enterprises prepare for cybersecurity hacks and information-technology challenges.

Family office Dunes Point Capital in Rye, N.Y., has acquired commercial roofing and building envelope services provider Greenwood Industries, backed with financing from Adams Street Partners and StepStone Group. The Worcester, Mass.-based company has around 800 employees and operates across much of New England and New York state.

Altas Partners is backing home repair and maintenance company Redwood Services with a “significant” equity investment, joining founding investor Union Main Group. Memphis, Tenn.-based Redwood operates under a partnership model with around 19 contractors, plumbers, electricians, and heating and air-conditioning businesses.

Runway Growth Capital has provided a $40 million senior secured term loan to small-business software company Autobooks in Detroit to support its expansion, including the acquisition of Allied Payment Network.

Vertu Capital led a $35 million commitment to software business Amilia to finance expansion, joined by existing backers of the company. Amilia provides management and billing applications mainly to community organizations and recreational industries.

Apax Partners has acquired 98% of the shares in infrastructure maintenance provider Norva24 Group, concluding a tender offer that began in March and offered stockholders 36.50 kronor a share, or $3.78 each. The company has a market value of roughly 6.7 billion kronor, or about $692 million, according to Wall Street Journal data.

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

Private-equity firm Graphite in London is trying to sell its educational training and consulting company Empowering Learning, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News in London, citing people familiar with the matter. Investment bank Houlihan Lokey is running the sales process, the people said. The firm set up Empowering Learning in 2017.

Corsair Capital has received commitments of around $600 million for a multiasset continuation fund and a separate secondary vehicle, with Coller Capital leading investors in the transaction. Multiple Corsair funds are selling European assets to the new fund, Corsair Riva, including software and financial services businesses. The secondary fund was set up to acquire a majority interest in identity verification company IDnow.

Southfield Capital has closed on $560 million for its Southfield Capital IV fund, exceeding its initial offering amount of $550 million as indicated in a securities filing. The Greenwich, Conn., firm invests in companies with adjusted pretax earnings of $4 million to $20 million.

Infrastructure-focused Stonepeak in New York has tapped Managing Director Steven Ciobo and Fadi Kerbaj to lead the firm’s new office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ciobo, a former Australian government minister and Stonepeak’s head of global affairs, joined the firm in 2020 and has worked in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, according to his LinkedIn page. Kerbaj, a Stonepeak principal, previously was executive director with Tribe Infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Stonepeak manages assets of about $73 billion.

Phoenix Equity Partners has promoted one of its co-founders to co-lead the business as part of a shake-up within its senior ranks, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News in London. The growth-focused private-equity firm also appointed Kevin Keck as managing partner, joining David Burns in co-leading the firm, while Richard Daw is set to become Phoenix’s chair.

Coalesce Capital has hired John Mulflur as a managing director. He was most recently in a similar role with Permira.

Placement agent and advisory firm Asante Capital Group has promoted Charlotte Dunley in London and Steven Chan in Hong Kong to managing director roles. Dunley joined the firm more than 10 years ago while Chan came aboard in 2022, according to an emailed statement.

Specialist asset manager Obra Capital in New York has named Peter Polanskyj, a senior managing director and head of structured credit, as chief investment officer. The firm also elevated Matt Roesler to senior managing director and head of multisector credit and Greg Nicolls to senior managing director and head of business development and investor relations.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment’s assets rose about 9.1% last year to about 1.2 trillion United Arab Emirates ​​dirham, or about $326.7 billion. The sovereign-wealth fund manager has about 40% of its assets in private equity and has generated an overall five-year return of about 10%.

Vista Equity Partners is offering a new evergreen fund tailored to eligible individual investors outside the U.S. The VistaOne fund gives investors a chance to wager on Vista’s software investments either directly or through wealth managers.

Northern Trust is providing Partners Group in Switzerland with fund administration, depositary and banking services for its first long-term asset fund, which it began offering in April. The U.K.’s LTAF regime came into existence in 2021, followed in 2023 by new rules widening its availability to provide investors with increased access to private markets.

Lower midmarket-focused Hastings Equity Partners has formed electrical services provider Industria Power + Data, collecting holdings in the sector into one organization.

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