Good morning! Geopolitical and tariff-driven uncertainties aren’t diminishing investors’ appetite for private-credit funds, my colleague Isaac Taylor reports, citing industry executives and a recent survey.

Meanwhile, my other colleague Rod James brings us two notable hirings by SQ Capital, as the newly formed investment firm seeks to bulk up its management team.

Those stories and more news wait for you below. Please jump in…

Investors in private-credit funds expect to increase their target allocations to the asset class, despite recent geopolitical turmoil and U.S. tariff actions that have raised worries about the economy and markets, WSJ Pro’s Isaac Taylor reports, citing industry executives and a recent investor survey. Uncertainty has stalled some private-credit deal activity, but institutions that participate in new funds have largely been unstirred by changing trade policies. These big investors have found credit funds appealing as other asset classes like private equity and venture capital have struggled to return capital to investors by exiting holdings.

Newly formed SQ Capital, an investment firm started in January by a former senior Blackstone executive, is bulking up its management team with two new hires with long experience in the top ranks of well-established private-equity firms, WSJ Pro’s Rod James reports. The New York newcomer named Henry Minello as a managing director with its investment team focused on sourcing, evaluating and executing secondary private-equity deals and Andrew Curry as a managing director in its investor relations team.

Buyout firm I Squared Capital in Miami has agreed to acquire the North America School Bus business of London-listed Mobico at an enterprise value of as much as $608 million, Anthony O. Goriainoff reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Mobico said the enterprise value used for the deal represents a roughly fivefold multiple of the unit’s expected adjusted pretax profit of $122 million for fiscal 2024. The unit comes with $38 million in lease obligations and the deal includes an earn-out provision of as much as $70 million. Mobico shares plunged nearly 41% in London following the deal announcement.

European investor EQT AB led a $50 million early-stage investment in biotechnology company Avidicure, joined by others including Kurma Partners, BioGeneration Ventures and Curie Capital. The Netherlands-based company is developing technology to deliver cancer therapies to affected areas, such as the lungs. EQT backed the company through its Life Sciences arm.

Montagu Private Equity doesn’t plan to make an offer to acquire London-listed Advanced Medical Solutions Group, a regulatory filing shows. The firm indicated last month that it was considering an offer for the company, setting the clock ticking for it to either make a bid or declare that it wouldn’t. The deadline was reached last Thursday.

Thrive Capital and Insight Partners led a $40 million growth investment in trip booking company Fora Travel, joined by existing backers Forerunner and Heartcore Capital, according to a post on company co-founder Henley Vazquez’s LinkedIn page. Fora works with third parties who help clients book travel to places where the third party has personal expertise.

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 manager Palladin Consumer Retail Partners has sold a majority stake in Splash Car Wash to peer firm AEA Investors. Milford, Conn.-based Splash operates more than 65 car-wash locations across Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont. AEA, which makes buyout, growth and debt investments, backed Splash from its strategy dedicated to small businesses.

Private-equity investor GTCR in Chicago is working on selling value-based care software company Cedar Gate Technologies at an expected price of more than $1 billion, the Financial Times reports, citing people familiar with the matter. GTCR backed company founder David Snow when he set up the Greenwich, Conn.-based business in 2014. Other firms that invested since then include Ascension Ventures and Cobalt Ventures. Cedar Gate’s applications are used to manage services, analyze patient populations and for payments.

Lotus Infrastructure Partners has raised at least $379 million for Lotus Infrastructure Fund IV, and may have reached $554 million, regulatory filings indicate. The Greenwich, Conn.-based firm formerly known as Starwood Energy Group Global collected $1.2 billion for a predecessor vehicle, Starwood Energy Infrastructure Fund III, which closed in 2018. Investors in the latest fund include the Oregon Investment Council, which pledged $150 million as a renewable energy commitment last year. A Lotus representative didn’t respond to a request for more details.

Multi-strategy manager PineBridge Investments in New York has raised at least $100 million so far for PineBridge Secondary Partners VI, a regulatory filing shows. The firm’s private-equity strategies include funds-of-funds, structured capital and private credit, according to  a separate filing which indicates that the firm managed about $73.24 billion overall near the end of March.

Cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale in Stamford, Conn., has hired Ramona Boston as chief marketing officer, starting in July. She joins the firm from Apollo Global Management, where her roles included global head of client marketing.

CenterOak Partners in Dallas has promoted Carrie Hamilton to partner, business development and investor relations. She joined the firm in 2016.

Global IPOs have been “frozen” by volatility tied to President Trump’s tariff policies, according to the chief executive of Euronext. Stéphane Boujnah told sister publication Financial News in London that while “the IPO pipeline is thick,” deals are being hamstrung by “an unprecedented level of volatility,” reports Lars Mucklejohn. “The IPO market is frozen — not only in Europe, everywhere, including in the US,” said the long-serving head of Europe’s largest exchange operator.

Harvard University aims to sell around $1 billion in stakes from its private-equity holdings and is in advanced discussions over a deal with secondary investor Lexington Partners, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The sale by endowment manager Harvard Management comes as the nation’s oldest college faces financial pressure from the Trump administration, but preparations for the sale began last year. Harvard has nearly 40% of its $53 billion in endowment funds earmarked for private markets.

GoldenTree Asset Management has closed a $500 million collateralized loan obligation, GoldenTree Loan Management US CLO 24, bringing the total it has issued through 32 CLOs to over $17 billion. The latest deal is primarily backed by senior secured loans.

Buyout firm TPG’s Next arm is backing former Eurazeo chief executive Virginie Morgon’s new firm, Ardabelle Capital, with an anchor commitment to the firm’s investment capital. Founding and Managing Partner Morgon said her firm plans to tap into TPG’s networks and its expertise as it invests in sustainable services providers to supply-chain companies. Morgon formed Ardabelle last year in Paris. TPG Next received a $500 million anchor fund commitment from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System in 2023 to support its strategy of backing emerging investment managers.

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

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