Good day! Consumer-focused VMG Partners hopes to raise the profile of Popchips among snackers everywhere. The San Francisco firm plans to form a new group around it and several other portfolio brand holdings to drive sales growth, particularly online, and develop new products, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Laura Cooper reports. Spoiler alert: More diet-busting threats for lovers of salty and sweet noshes may soon emerge.

Meanwhile, south of the border, HMC Capital has set its sights on raising $100 million for a new private debt fund targeting deals in Peru, Colombia and Chile, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Luis Garcia reports. The firm is broadening its reach by aiming for companies that aren’t prepared to issue bonds.

Finally, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Will Louch reports on Värde Partners' plans to join investment fund giants Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management by jumping into the insurance business. The deal involves a joint venture with Agam Capital Management LLC, an insurer and insurance services company set up by a pair of private investment veterans.

Finally, in our roundup of industry news, we report on Blackstone’s Refinitiv deal in London, Michael Calvey’s detention being extended in Moscow, and the easing of the Volcker Rule in Washington.

There’s plenty more, so please read on...

The maker of Popchips snacks is broadening its palate. The snack brand has been acquired by a private-equity firm that plans to use Popchips as the foundation for building a larger snack company. Consumer-focused VMG Partners, which has backed Kind Bars, Pretzel Crisps and other popular food brands, formed a new entity called Velocity Snack Brands that will be the new corporate parent to Popchips and other brands. Amit Pandhi, the former president and chief executive of low-calorie ice cream brand Arctic Zero, will be Velocity’s chief executive.

HMC Capital aims to raise $100 million for a new private-debt fund focused on Peru, Colombia and Chile as the Latin American specialist seeks to expand its reach to a broader universe of companies searching for capital. The financial advisory and investment firm expects to hold a first closing of its HMC Andean Private Debt Fund by the end of this month, Partner Daniel Dancourt said. He added that backers of the fund so far include insurers, mutual funds and other institutional investors from Chile, as well as development finance institutions.

Värde Partners is set to become the latest private-equity firm to expand into the insurance industry. The U.S. debt and special situations specialist has struck an agreement to form a joint venture with Agam Capital Management LLC, an insurance provider in Teaneck, N.J., founded by former senior executives from Apollo Global Management and life insurer Aflac Inc. The joint venture will see Värde aim to invest $500 million initially in life insurance, annuity and reinsurance assets.

The Blackstone Group-led group that has agreed to sell Thomson Reuters Corp. spinout Refinitiv Holdings Ltd. got some good news Tuesday when Hong Kong’s stock exchange pulled a $36.6 billion bid for its rival half a world away. By backing off its proposed takeover of London Stock Exchange Group PLC, the Hong Kong bourse cleared the way for an earlier $14.5 billion deal in which the LSE would purchase the data provider and Eikon trading terminal operator from Blackstone, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Singapore’s GIC Pte. The group acquired Refinitiv in a deal that valued the business at about $20 billion, including debt. The LSE has agreed to buy it at a $27 billion valuation.

Tailwater Capital, an energy-focused private-equity firm in Dallas, has expanded on an initial growth investment in 2016 and committed more than $500 million more to Goodnight Midstream LLC. The Dallas company builds and operates midstream oilfield water infrastructure for producers of crude oil and natural gas. Tailwater said the deal is expected to help Goodnight expand its U.S. operations. Goodnight has extensive positions in the Permian and Bakken shale regions and is expanding in the Eagle Ford Shale area.

Three Hills Capital Partners has invested €45 million ($49.3 million) in Madrid-based Goal Systems SL, a provider of scheduling and operations management software for mass transit systems. The investment, made alongside the company’s founding shareholders, is expected to finance growth initiatives, including acquisitions. Goal has contracts with clients in more than 25 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

Ardian has acquired a majority stake in Staci Group, a European logistics company, from Cobepa SA, investing alongside Société Générale and Staci management. The Boom, Belgium-based company operates warehouses and delivery services using a proprietary information technology system. Staci has about 1,900 employees and generated more than €250 million in revenue last year. Cobepa, based in Brussels, is backed by European family shareholders and manages about €2.6 billion in investments. Paris-based Ardian has about $96 billion of managed or advised assets, including about $53 billion invested in funds of funds.

General Atlantic has acquired a majority stake in Marathon Health LLC from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s private capital unit. General Atlantic said the investment would finance a nationwide expansion for the provider of employee health centers. The Goldman Sachs unit invested in the company about three years ago.

Thoma Bravo has acquired a majority stake in IDS Group Cos., a Minneapolis-based software developer whose products help property investors manage lease financing and loans. The growth investment marks an exit for SV Investment Partners, which first invested in the company in 2003.

Victor Capital Partners has invested in Rizzo Group, a provider of building code and zoning compliance, construction inspection, energy management, and sustainability services for the commercial real-estate industry. New York-based Rizzo said the capital infusion would accelerate growth and support future business acquisitions.

In a separate transaction, Victor Capital made a growth investment in New York-based CodeGreen Solutions, a provider of energy management systems for commercial buildings.

Ampersand Capital Partners has recapitalized New England Peptide, a company that offers custom peptides and antibodies used by drug, vaccine and diagnostic development organizations. As part of the deal, industry executive Dr. José de Chastonay will be appointed as executive chairman of the company’s board, according to a press release.

Tritium Partners has invested in Project X Media Inc., a technology-driven media agency that assists advertisers in buying outdoor placements such as billboards, public video displays, transit signs and other delivery points. The investment in the New York-based company aims to support future growth.

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

A subsidiary of Tokyo’s Shiseido Co. has agreed to buy VMG Partners-backed skincare brand Drunk Elephant, capping a sales process that began around the start of this year. The value of the transaction, made through Shiseido Americas Corp., wasn’t disclosed, but WSJ Pro reported in January that the deal could value the Houston company at roughly $1 billion. The purchase is expected to close before year-end.

I Squared Capital has sold hydroelectric dam owner-operators Cube Hydro Partners and Helix Partners to Ontario Power Generation, which is setting up a U.S. division with the assets and its Eagle Creek group, purchased last year. The Cube Hydro purchase adds 19 hydroelectric facilities in five states and brings the group’s total to 85 U.S. generating assets with capacity to produce 619 megawatts of power. The dams and other assets acquired are mainly located in the Southeast, New England, Mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest.

Battery Ventures-backed software maker ClearCare Inc., whose products are used in the home-care market, is being acquired by WellSky Corp., a provider of health- and community-care technology. Battery Ventures invested in the company in 2016. San Francisco-based ClearCare software assists providers with managing billing, staff time, referrals and care delivery and is used by more than 4,000 agencies in the U.S. and Canada.

Barings LLC has closed a secondary investing fund focused on real assets with more than $235 million in commitments. The Barings Global Real Assets Fund is the Charlotte, N.C., firm’s first commingled vehicle set up to invest alongside third-party general partners in infrastructure, natural resources and businesses. The unit of Springfield, Mass.-based Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has about $325 billion in client assets.

Sverica Capital Management has closed its fifth private-equity fund, Sverica Capital Partners V, at its $450 million hard cap. The firm said it will invest the fund through its growth-oriented strategy targeting lower-midmarket companies, with market values of as much as $150 million. The firm has raised more than $1.1 billion to date and invested in 34 portfolio companies, according to a news release.

Pantheon Group has named John Eggleston a partner and chief technology officer, while Richard Berke has joined as global head of recruitment, a new position. Both are based in London. Eggleston joins from BGF PLC, a £2.5 billion ($3.05 billion) investment company where he served on the firm’s executive and investment committees. Earlier, he was chief information officer at startup Callcredit, which was acquired by TransUnion for more than $1 billion. At Pantheon, he is responsible for core technology infrastructure, cybersecurity and systems development. He reports to Robin Bailey, the firm’s chief operating officer. Mr. Berke was most recently with Insight Investment, where he was head of resourcing. At Pantheon, he reports to Dianne Remanous, the firm’s global head of human resources.

Midmarket investor Norwest Equity Partners named three new managing directors, hiring Adam Garcia Eveloff and Beth Lesniak and promoting Jason Sondell. Mr. Eveloff previously was with Castanea Partners in Boston, while Ms. Lesniak comes from Grey Mountain Partners in Boulder, Colo. Mr. Sondell has been with Norwest since 2006.

A relaxation of the post-crisis Volcker Rule, which bans banks from setting up or investing in private-equity funds, gained approval from five key federal agencies Tuesday, although the changes set to take effect Jan. 1 don’t include loosening the ban on PE funds. Also unchanged are prohibitions on bank participation in hedge funds and engaging in proprietary trading activities. The rule was called for under the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that sought to prevent banks from making risky bets with federally insured deposits, and was implemented in 2014. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who championed the original restrictions, opposed the changes approved Tuesday, which include simplifications of compliance and accounting rules.

Baring Vostok Capital Partners co-founder Michael Calvey must remain in Moscow through the end of this year and into January, a Russian judge ruled on Tuesday, extending Mr. Calvey’s house arrest, according to local news reports. An American, Mr. Calvey faces charges of fraud and embezzlement and has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence, contending that the charges stem from a dispute over control of Russia’s Vostochny bank. He was imprisoned in February pending legal proceedings and then moved to home confinement in April. Another Baring Vostok executive charged in the case, French banker Philippe Delpal, also had his house arrest extended to Jan. 13. Three more members of the firm remain in prison, and all five had their assets frozen last week by Russian authorities, Agence France-Presse reported. The case against top executives of a prominent Western investment firm have raised concerns among other foreign investors in Russia, AFP said.

The gap between top-performing private-equity funds and the median for more than 7,000 funds on the Cepres secondary deals platform has widened significantly since the financial crisis that ended in 2009, Cepres said in a news release. Most of the growth in the spread occurred since 2013, the data indicate, with the top performers climbing to nearly 30% in terms of the internal rate of return while the median remained within a range of about 13% to 16%.

The investment staff of the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System recommended the adoption of a proposal to increase its private-equity commitments next year, under a plan developed by TorreyCove Capital Partners. The consulting firm called for the system, known as Lacers, to earmark $625 million to $675 million for the asset class in 2020 and invest $50 million to $100 million in each of 10 to 14 funds. This year through September, Lacers committed $408 million to 15 funds, according to TorreyCove. Additional investments expected during the current quarter would push the total this year to $560 million, TorreyCove said. Lacers had about $17.7 billion in assets at the end of June, with private-equity holdings valued at about $2 billion. Lacers has an allocation target of 14% for the asset class.

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