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Warren Equity Banks $2.8 Billion for Fund V | Benchmark to Raise First Growth Fund | Partners Group Gates Private-Markets Fund

By Maria Armental

 

Welcome back.

We start with Warren Equity Partners, which expects to wrap up fundraising to back midmarket, industrial-services businesses with roughly $2.8 billion, roughly double the amount it raised in 2023, Luis Garcia reports.

Silicon Valley stalwart Benchmark, whose bet on Cerebras paid off in spades, is raising its first growth fund, the Journal's Kate Clark reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

And finally, credit can’t shake off investor jitters. The latest news came from Swiss buyout firm Partners Group, which will limit redemptions from a flagship private-markets fund to 5% in the second quarter. Withdrawals requests rose to more than 10% of the fund’s value.

Dive in for more…

 
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Today's Top Stories

Warren Equity Partners' latest fund is set to close with $2.8 billion. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Warren Equity Partners expects to close soon its latest main fund with roughly $2.8 billion to back midmarket, industrial-services businesses across sectors the private-equity firm sees as ripe for consolidation and resilient to economic recessions, Luis Garcia reports for WSJ Pro. The firm as of the end of May had amassed about $2.48 billion for Warren Equity Partners Fund V and parallel vehicles, according to a letter it sent to its fund limited partners that was viewed by WSJ Pro Private Equity. Warren Equity expects to wrap up the fundraising effort this month with double the roughly $1.4 billion it raised for a predecessor vehicle that closed in 2023.

Benchmark, one of Silicon Valley’s older venture-capital firms known best for early-stage bets on Uber and Twitter, has raised two new funds and plans to expand into investments in more mature startups, Kate Clark reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Benchmark’s new funds include a $750 million fund dedicated to early-stage investments and a $1.25 billion fund for late-stage bets, the firm’s first growth fund.

Swiss buyout firm Partners Group limited redemptions from a flagship private-markets fund because of high demand from investors to get their money back, prompting a sharp sell off of its shares in Zurich, Margot Patrick reports for the Journal. Partners told investors in its $8.6 billion Global Value Sicav fund that it would limit withdrawals to 5% in the second quarter, after withdrawal requests rose to close to 10% of the fund's value. Partners' shares dropped 16% on Wednesday.

 
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WSJ Sports: The Next Sports Economy

WSJ Sports: The Next Sports Economy will bring together investors, team owners, executives and advisers at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York July 15-16 for conversations on the forces transforming the business of sports. Join leaders from across finance, media, ownership and operations as they sit down with WSJ reporters to explore the future of investment, governance and value creation across the global sports landscape.

 

Big Number

59%

The percentage of 148 GP-led deals from 2021 through 2025 that transacted at a discount to net asset value, according to Mercer.

 

Deals

Kpler’s MarineTraffic service shows the location of oil tankers around the world. PHOTO: JOSE SARMENTO MATOS FOR WSJ

Sixth Street has made a more than $1 billion minority investment in Brussels-based Kpler, a commodities- and shipping-data provider. As part of the transaction, management remains majority owners, Insight Partners will roll a portion of its original investment, and Five Arrows will exit its investment.

Vitruvian Partners, the asset-management arm of JPMorgan Chase and the venture arm of Accenture led a $350 million growth investment in artificial intelligence-driven market research company AlphaSense, joined by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and D.E. Shaw Ventures, the Journal reports. The deal values the company at $7.5 billion, up from a $4 billion valuation in a 2024 investment round.

Carlyle Group won conditional approval for its €7.7 billion, or roughly $8.9 billion, carve-out of the auto-coatings division of German chemicals manufacturer BASF from the European Commission, Nina Kienle reports for Dow Jones Newswires. BASF plans to retain a 40% stake in the business, with Carlyle agreeing last October to pay about €5.8 billion for a majority interest. The commission—the European Union's executive branch—approved the deal provided that Carlyle sells portfolio company Nouryon's worldwide polysulfides business. The Washington firm is investing in the deal along with the Qatar Investment Authority.

Investment manager BDT & MSD Partners in Chicago has committed $250 million to a new venture set up by Black Creek Group co-founders Evan Zucker and Jimmy Mulvihill to buy industrial properties. The founders put $100 million into the venture, called Speed Bay Warehouse Solutions, as well. Speed Bay has so far invested in six major U.S. markets, including Philadelphia, Denver and Phoenix.

Advent International in Boston along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board led a $200 million growth investment in telemetry data analytics provider Coralogix, joined by Greenfield Partners and Brighton Park Capital. The company serves more than 5,000 customers and aims to use the new capital to accelerate the development of systems using agentic artificial intelligence. Greenfield first invested in the business in 2021, joined by Advent and Brighton Park in 2022 and later CPP Investments, according to their websites.

General Catalyst has led a $150 million investment in Factorial, bringing the Barcelona AI-driven business-management technology provider to a $2.5 billion valuation, Mauro Orru reports for the Journal. Other investors in the latest transaction include Atomico and Four Rivers. General Catalyst has committed a total of over $700 million so far to the company, which plans to use a significant chunk of the latest funding to expand in Germany.

Paris-based PAI Partners is acquiring a majority stake in Arlettie, which combines physical showrooms and online sales to help luxury brands manage inventory through private sales, staff sales and inventory-clearance events. PAI is backing the deal through PAI Mid-Market Fund II, which the firm expects to close in July.

Peak Rock Capital has acquired flavorings and seasonings company J.R. Dalziel alongside the Scotland-based company’s management as well as current owners, the Dalziel, Darroch and Dickens families.

Mutares in Munich has agreed to acquire heavy-duty transport and ground equipment businesses Trepel Airport Equipment and MAFI Transport‑Systeme from NDW Maschinenbau Holding. The buyout firm is backing the transaction through its infrastructure and special industries strategy. The companies generate revenue of about €150 million, or $174 million, and employ roughly 410 people.

Healthcare specialist Sheridan Capital Partners is backing insurer and technology company Tres Health. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based company works with small and mid‑sized businesses to develop managed care plans for workers.

BridgeWerk Capital Management in Calgary, Alberta, and Canadian family office Clear North Capital are backing mechanical and industrial services provider Tetrad Insulation Services. The Sherwood Park, Alberta-based company provides insulation services to the oil and natural gas industry.

White Wolf Capital Group and Investly Capital have made a strategic investment in waterworks infrastructure products company AccuCast. The Waco, Texas, company supplies items such as manhole covers and pipe fittings. White Wolf made its debt and equity investment through its White Wolf Hybrid Capital strategy, which it uses to support lower midmarket independent sponsors such as Investly.

 

Add-On Deals

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

 
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Exits

Littlejohn & Co. in Greenwich, Conn., has acquired engineering and architecture services provider Milrose Consultants from fellow private-equity firm Southfield Capital. The New York company works with developers and building owners on issues including code compliance and inspections. Southfield acquired the business in 2019.

Carlyle Group has agreed to sell German mechanical drive technology company Flender to fellow private-markets investment firm Triton Partners. Triton is backing the deal out of its sixth European midmarket buyout fund, which closed with €5.5 billion, or $6.38 billion, this year. Carlyle initially acquired Flender in 2021 in a corporate carve-out transaction from Siemens.

Francisco Partners has exited its stake in music technology and education company Muse Group, supported by senior credit facilities arranged by JPMorgan. Francisco initially invested in Muse Group in 2023 and the company remains majority owned and controlled by founder and chief executive Eugeny Naidenov.

 

Funds

European midmarket firm AnaCap has closed its second fund with more than €320 million, or $371.2 million, including co-investment capital. AnaCap has already backed four investments out of the new fund, including Dutch accounting firm DK Accountants & Adviseurs, defense and advanced technology company Edge Group and Luxembourg-based financial and tax services provider Ancorius.

Credit-focused Crescent Capital Group in Los Angeles has closed Crescent Direct Lending Fund IV with $10.8 billion of investable capital, including equity commitments of over $5.5 billion and anticipated leverage, as well as separately managed accounts. The firm invests from the fund in lower midmarket businesses and has already committed about $2.7 billion across more than 60 borrowers. Crescent closed a predecessor vehicle in 2022 with $4.2 billion in investable capital.

Wealth manager Simon Quick Advisors has held a first close on $60 million for its debut fund of funds, with a goal of raising $100 million for the vehicle, Simon Quick Private Equity Fund I. The Morristown, N.J., firm, formed in 2004, has long guided client investments in private-markets funds. Participants in the latest fund must be qualified investors and make a minimum $500,000 commitment.

 

People

Willow Wealth, which operates a retail-oriented website that offers ways to invest in private markets, has appointed Tom Williams as chief investment officer. He was previously with Morgan Stanley's wealth-management group.

 

Industry News

November 16, 2025, Turin, Italy: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner following the ATP Final, with Jannik Sinner winning, on day eight of the Nitto ATP Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy. (Credit Image: © Jon Buckle/PA Wire via ZUMA Press)

Carlos Alcaraz (left) and Jannik Sinner following the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy. PHOTO: JON BUCKLE/PA WIRE/ZUMA PRESS

European buyout firm EQT AB will be the first official private-markets partner of the ATP Tour of men's professional tennis through 2030. The sponsorship spans 15 tournaments across 12 markets and marks EQT’s first global sports partnership.

Fasanara Capital in London has established a lending program for buyers of Ferrari luxury cars, drawing on capital from ONE Fasanara Multi-Strategy and Fasanara Sports Lending Strategy to make loans secured by certain models in partnership with Mattioli Automotive Group in the Los Angeles area. The firm has also created a program for investors that is designed to give them "a genuine sense of participation in a world historically accessible only to a narrow circle of collectors and insiders."

Wellington Management in Boston is acquiring investment funds holding about $160 billion in assets from the Hartford Insurance Group and plans to integrate them with its own products designed for individual investors. Wellington has long advised the Hartford Funds on investing the assets. The firm will pay $300 million up front in cash and make additional payments for seven years after the deal closes, expected next year. Wellington put the net present value of the transaction at about $1.9 billion. Wellington managed about $1.3 trillion at the end of April.

Blackstone's credit funds will get about $9.4 billion from Japan's Nippon Life Insurance as the insurer invests through a new strategic partnership with the New York-based private-equity firm, Kosaku Narioka reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Nippon Life said Wednesday that it expects to expand its allocation to Blackstone's investment-grade private-credit and structured credit strategies, with plans to commit about 1.5 trillion yen, equivalent to $9.38 billion, over the coming five years. The partnership was established through a memorandum of understanding and also includes management services for Nippon Life's real-estate assets.

The Kroll Bond Rating Agency gave an investment-grade score of BBB to a $500 million bond issue by Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp., a Blue Owl Capital business-development company that has been among the most active lenders to software and technology-services companies—an industry segment seen as at risk of disruption from advances in artificial-intelligence technology. By the end of March, the New York-listed BDC with net assets of about $7.61 billion indicated that around 22.6% of its holdings were in the software or information-technology services segments. But investors sought to retrieve capital in the first quarter, with redemption requests for roughly 41% of the shares outstanding. The BDC limited withdrawals to 5%. In its rating action, KBRA cited the BDC's links to other Blue Owl funds and its managers.

Rocade Capital has acquired Law Finance Group, a San Francisco firm that provides capital to support litigation in the U.S. The transaction extends Rocade's financing capacity to support plaintiff law firms. Arlington, Va.-based Rocade is backed by a joint venture formed by Barings and EJF Capital.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has set up a hospitality-focused partnership with Korean asset manager BlueCove Investment capitalized with 500 billion won, or about $329.6 million, to acquire hotels in Seoul. CPP Investments holds 95% of the equity in the venture and has already committed 119 billion won to initial projects.

Brookfield Asset Management has formed a joint venture with Concert Properties to hold eight industrial assets in Canada valued at about 1 billion Canadian dollars, or roughly $722.6 million. The properties total about 5.3 million square feet and are located in markets such as Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary.

Kayne Anderson’s real-estate strategy and BKM Capital Partners are acquiring a portfolio of light industrial real-estate assets from Link Logistics for $1.81 billion. The portfolio includes 51 multitenant light industrial properties across California, Washington, Texas and Georgia.

 
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About Us

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

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

 
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