Good day! Today our Chris Cumming provides a glimpse into the goings on at the International Private Equity Market conference in Cannes with a report on how limited partners intend to stick with their investment plans this year, come what may.

Also, our WSJ Pro colleague Brian Gormley offers a look into firms backing healthcare startups with a report on a new Dimension life sciences fund. 

We have these stories and many more for you rounded up below, so please read on...

Private-equity investors have learned from past recessions and hope to keep commitments to the asset class steady no matter what 2023 throws at them, Chris Cumming reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity, citing participants at the International Private Equity Market conference in Cannes, France. Recent downturns, particularly the financial crisis of 2007 through 2009, have persuaded many institutional investors that slumps can be the best times to commit to private funds. Most institutions that invest in private equity aim to continue putting money into new funds at a steady pace despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, said attendees at the conference, including private-fund managers and limited partners.

New investor Dimension has closed a $350 million life sciences venture fund, adding to a fundraising surge by healthcare venture capitalists, Brian Gormley reports for WSJ Pro Venture Capital. Dimension plans to focus mostly on early-stage companies. Targeting young companies that need time to mature can be an advantage at a time when the public markets are largely closed to startups, some investors said. After securing a record $28.3 billion in 2021, U.S. healthcare venture capitalists accelerated their fundraising in the first half of last year before the pace slowed later in the year, according to Silicon Valley Bank.

Join us on Feb. 15 for a virtual webinar to discuss how limited partners view the investment outlook. In one panel, Mina Pacheco Nazemi from Barings and Sara Bowdoin from Siguler Guff will consider allocations, while a second panel on finding diverse managers will feature Katie Moore from Hamilton Lane and Pamela Pavkov from TPG. You can register here.

Blackstone Inc. said the University of California system plans to expand its $4 billion commitment to the firm’s Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. with an additional $500 million investment, expected to close on March 1. The new capital infusion would be on the same terms as the initial investment, which include a guaranteed return if the fund performs up to expectations. Blackstone said it will add another $125 million to its $1 billion commitment to a partnership it set up with the university system under the original deal. News of the fresh investment follows barely a week after activists protested the public university system’s investments with Blackstone.

Apollo Global Management Inc. in New York and Claure Group in Luxembourg, the family office of former SoftBank Group Corp. executive Marcelo Claure, are in talks to acquire publicly traded Millicom International Cellular SA. The Latin America-focused telecommunications company based in Luxembourg said in a regulatory filing the discussions with the two groups continue, confirming an earlier report by the Financial Times that cited unnamed sources. Millicom shares jumped more than 23% to close at $18.25 on the Nasdaq stock market, giving it a market value of around $3 billion.

KKR & Co. is moving forward with its plan to take private third-party logistics company Hitachi Transport System Ltd. in a deal valued at about $5 billion. The Japanese company said it would create one Class B share that KKR would buy for  ¥127.2 billion, equivalent to about $977.2 million, to obtain a 39.9% stake in the company. The New York firm completed a tender offer last year for publicly held shares. KKR, which is investing through its Asia IV Fund, announced the deal in April.

A take-private offer by EQT AB received new support through a statement of approval from the management and supervisory boards of target company va-Q-tec AG in Germany, according to a news release. EQT is offering €26 per share, or $28.38 each, to acquire the business. Shares declined slightly to close at €24.95 each Wednesday in Germany.

Arctos Sports Partners and Norwest Venture Partners have invested in geolocation security provider GeoComply Solutions Inc. to help finance its growth, according to a news release. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company’s technology is used for fraud detection and prevention and in cybersecurity applications, according to a news release.

Mountaingate Capital said it is backing marketing business WTWH Media LLC with a growth investment. The Cleveland-based company produces newsletters, podcasts and events as well as other sorts of products focused on seven areas of business interest, such as food services, convenience store operations, engineering and robotics, according to a news release.

Salt Creek Capital said it has acquired Broco Inc., Rankin Industries Inc. and Strong Welding Products and said they are now known collectively as Broco Rankin, a provider of underwater and industrial welding and cutting equipment. The group is based in Ontario, Calif. And supplies military, law enforcement and fire and rescue organizations, according to a news release.

Inverness Graham, a firm that backs applied technology companies, said it has recapitalized pet products maker Treat Planet LLC to acquire a majority stake. The St. Louis-based company makes dog treats and chews, according to a news release.

GEF Capital Partners said it is backing self-powered bicycle maker MURF Electric Bikes LLC with a growth investment. The San Clemente, Calif.-based brand specializes in off-road models initially designed for West Coast surfers to help them reach remote breaks, according to a news release.

Firmament, an investment firm in New York, said it is backing private-nursing provider Family Tree Private Care. The company serves clients in Texas and Colorado, according to a news release.

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

Bain Capital in Boston is selling a 35% stake in India’s terminal and inland transport services provider J M Baxi Ports & Logistics Ltd. to ship operator Hapag-Lloyd AG, Adria Calatayud reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Bain Capital said it backed the company about two years ago with a growth investment through its private-equity strategy. J M Baxi has about 5,400 workers, Hapag-Lloyd said.

Oaktree Capital Management has sold half its interest in product and chemical tanker ship operator Hafnia Ltd., representing a block of 25.2 million shares in the company, or about a 5% stake, according to a news release. The sale left Oaktree with a nearly 5% interest in the Oslo-traded ship owner. Hafnia shares closed down about 4% at 49.75 Norwegian kroner, equivalent to $5.02 each, on Wednesday.

Industrial technology-focused Artemis Capital Partners in Boston said it has sold radio frequency and microwave products maker KCB Solutions LLC to strategic buyer Micross Components Inc., a New York company that makes microelectronics for aerospace, medical and industrial customers. Artemis first backed Shirley, Mass.-based KCB in 2003, according to the firm’s website.

Sustainable-focused real assets investor Vision Ridge Partners in Boulder, Colo. said it has closed on $700 million for its SAF Annex Fund LP, which follows the firm’s raising of around $1.25 billion for its Sustainable Asset Fund III LP in April 2021, according to an emailed news release. Investors in the latest vehicle include the Delaware Public Employees’ Retirement System, which agreed to commit up to $15 million last June, the WSJ Pro Private Equity LP Commitments database and public documents show. The firm said it has committed around half of the new fund to multiple investments. Vision Ridge focuses on sustainable infrastructure in the energy, transportation and agriculture sectors.

Webster Equity Partners Managing Partner David Malm has spent more than $80 million since 2021 to buy nine properties on the Massachusetts resort islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, including a $15 million purchase last week, and has amassed a portfolio worth close to $100 million over the past few years, E.B. Solomont reports for The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Malm said rents cover the costs of financing and upkeep, with just one house on Nantucket commanding $75,000 for a summer week.

Partners Group Holding AG has named Teppei Kawai as a managing director and head of client solutions, Japan. The Swiss asset manager also named him as head of its Tokyo office effective April 1. He was most recently head of client & product solutions, Japan, for Apollo Global Management Inc., according to a news release.

Comvest Partners in West Palm Beach, Fla. said it has brought aboard John Mendell as a managing director on its investor relations team, focusing on private equity, direct lending and special opportunities strategies. He was most recently part of the direct lending team at Tennenbaum Capital Partners and successor firm BlackRock Inc., according to a news release.

Financial services investment firm J.C. Flowers & Co. said it has hired Dan Meade as a managing director and head of business development and investor relations. He was most recently in a similar role with Castlelake, according to a news release.

Northleaf Capital Partners in Toronto said it has added Stewart Hay as vice chair, global investor solutions, focusing on private equity, private credit and infrastructure investments. He was most recently in a similar role with Edinburgh, Scotland-based asset manager Abrdn PLC, formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen PLC.

Lenders to Silver Lake- and Atairos-backed multimedia and marketing company Learfield have engaged restructuring attorneys as the company faces more than $1 billion of debt coming due this year, Alexander Gladstone and Andrew Scurria report for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy, citing people familiar with the matter. The Plano, Texas-based company focuses on working with college sports teams.

Elon Musk’s team has been exploring using as much as $3 billion in potential new fundraising to help repay some of the $13 billion in debt tacked onto Twitter Inc. for his buyout of the company, Berber Jin and Alexander Saeedy write for The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. In December, Mr. Musk’s representatives discussed selling up to $3 billion in new Twitter shares, the people said. Mr. Musk’s team has indicated that an equity raise, if successful, could be used to pay down an unsecured portion of the debt that carries the highest interest rate within the $13 billion Twitter loan package, the people said.

Cornell Capital-backed Instant Brands Inc. has hired restructuring advisers to help it address financial challenges, Alexander Gladstone and Jodi Xu Klein report for WSJ Bankruptcy, citing people familiar with the matter. The Illinois-based home appliance maker has hired Guggenheim Partners as financial adviser and law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP to help it explore restructuring options, the people said. Instant Brands has a roughly $400 million loan trading at around 50 cents on the dollar, one of the people said.

Real estate investment trusts’ acquisitions of nursing homes can impact a critical component of care quality, Eleanor Laise reports for sister publication MarketWatch, citing a first-of-its-kind study published in Health Affairs, a peer-reviewed journal. The study found evidence that some REIT-owned nursing homes replace more-expensive, skilled registered nurses with cheaper, less-skilled staff. Care-giving personnel represents one of the biggest costs of running a nursing home but is also key to providing quality care, past studies have found, with higher registered nurse staff levels correlated to improved outcomes. Policy experts in recent years have raised concerns that investor returns from backing nursing homes may come at a cost to their residents, as facilities struggling to pay rent may cut costs in other areas.

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