Good morning! I hope you all had a good, relaxing holiday. Today, WSJ Pro’s Laura Kreutzer reports on how family-backed investment firms have increased their presence in the private-equity industry as they benefit from the ability to hold companies longer than fund managers.

Also, The Wall Street Journal's Matt Wirz looks at four books that sound a warning about the influence of private markets, and WSJ Pro Venture Capital's Brian Gormley reports on how the initial public offering of Insight Partners-backed Hinge Health raises hopes among venture firms that they will be able to take more digital health companies public after a long drought. 

Now onto the news...

Family-backed investment firms are a growing presence in the private-equity world, particularly when they act as direct investors in small and midsize family- and founder-owned companies, WSJ Pro's Laura Kreutzer writes. Many tap in to the experience of founders who amassed their wealth by successfully building their own businesses in specific industries. Their ranks increasingly include firms started by former private-equity dealmakers, such as Lupine Crest Capital, recently set up by Genstar Capital Chairman and Managing Director Jean-Pierre “J.P.” Conte, and Avalt, co-founded in 2015 by retired Bain Capital executive Mark Nunnelly.

A clutch of newish books aim to help explain how the so-called alternative-investment industry has taken over Wall Street and increasingly influences the U.S. economy, The Wall Street Journal’s Matt Wirz writes. The books come as the industry has pushed to make it easier for retail investors, including retirement funds, to back private markets funds.

The first-day jump in the shares of Insight Partners-backed Hinge Health on Thursday gave a much-needed win to a digital-health industry that’s been starved of initial public offerings, WSJ Pro’s Brian Gormley writes. Other backers include Bessemer Venture Partners and Atomico. The offering was the first major IPO for a venture-backed digital-health company since the pandemic-era investment boom, and its strong showing will likely encourage more companies to seek a public listing. There are more than 50 digital-health unicorns globally, and many are likely to explore exit options soon, according to market-tracker PitchBook Data.

Attention readers! WSJ Pro Private Equity is embarking on its latest Survey of Secondary Market Buyers, which we use as the basis for compiling our annual special report on the latest trends shaping the secondary market. Secondary buyers can complete the survey by June 20, 2025 through the following link. Thanks in advance!

Private-equity firm RedBird Capital Partners has struck a deal to acquire control of Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper in a deal valued at more than $673 million, capping a drawn-out sale process for the 170-year-old title, Ben Dummett reports for The Wall Street Journal. New York-based RedBird is ultimately expected to control about 75% of the media group, according to people familiar with the matter, though that could rise depending on the outcome of talks with other potential deal participants. International Media Investments—a group backed by a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan—is expected to participate as a minority investor with no more than a 15% interest, subject to U.K. approval.

Technology Crossover Ventures, or TCV, joined Sequoia Capital in backing exercise app-maker Strava with a growth investment at a valuation of $2.2 billion, Ben Glickman reports for the Journal, citing company Chief Executive Mike Martin. Sequoia led the deal, the value of which was undisclosed.

Italian private-equity firm FSI is buying about 80% of TNB, a new digital bank being spun out of asset manager Azimut, for as much as €1.2 billion, or roughly $1.35 billion, Elena Vardon reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The deal includes €240 million in cash once it closes. Under the agreement, TNB will be dedicated to wealth advisory services and be the main third-party distributor of Azimut's products. Azimut is retaining a roughly 20% ownership stake. The firms agreed to work together on the project last year.

Private-equity firm Breakwater Management in Los Angeles has made a majority investment in marketing company Chemistry, joined by Genesis Park and Tecum Capital as debt and equity investors. The company also offers digital services through its React Digital unit and counts brands such as Coca Cola, Netflix and the National Football League as clients.

Oaktree Capital Management in Los Angeles is leading a group of lenders in discussions with aluminum wheel maker Superior Industries International about a potential takeover of the business, WSJ Pro’s Alicia McElhaney and Alexander Gladstone report. The group’s members own the Southfield, Mich., company’s senior secured debt. Superior makes most of its wheels in Mexico and Poland and is under pressure from tariffs.

Travel specialist private-equity investor KSL Capital Partners has acquired a majority interest in hospitality company Soneva Group, a portfolio company since the Denver firm acquired a minority stake in 2019. The sustainability-focused company operates resorts in the Maldives. KSL acquired a majority interest by exercising rights to convert certain securities, according to the firm.

OrbiMed, Wellington Management and Cormorant Asset Management participated in a $38 million growth investment in cancer treatment developer Fore Biotherapeutics. The Philadelphia-based company is in the registration stage.

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

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec-backed agricultural imaging company Sentera has been acquired by farm machinery maker John Deere, part of a broader effort to digitize its equipment. St. Paul, Minn.-based Sentera makes remote imaging systems that can gather agronomic data to help farmers analyze field conditions. Canadian pension investor CDPQ has backed the business since at least 2021, when it led a $25 million growth investment.

Oaktree Capital Management-backed PHI Group withdrew its registration for an initial public offering of shares Friday, saying it had decided not to pursue the deal at this time. The helicopter operator in Lafayette, La., provides transportation services to the offshore oil industry as well as medical flights. The company hadn’t specified how many shares it planned to sell or at what price. Oaktree held nearly 18% of the company’s shares when it registered for the IPO in March, a regulatory filing shows. Another backer, First Pacific Advisors also has a roughly 18% stake.

Hellman & Friedman may list Swiss building security monitoring company Verisure in Stockholm at an enterprise value of more than €20 billion, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Hellman led an acquisition of the company in 2011 and then bought out its co-investor in 2015, according to the firm’s website. The company’s services include monitoring home and business alarm systems.

Venture-capital firm Cathay Innovation has closed a $1 billion fund to back artificial intelligence startups, another instance of the competitive frenzy under way in red-hot AI deals, Marc Vartabedian writes for WSJ Pro Venture Capital. The fund is the largest raised by the Paris-based firm since its founding in 2015. The new capital will go into global AI startups aiming to upend a handful of sectors: digital health, financial technology, consumer applications and energy and mobility.

Aliph Capital in Abu Dhabi has closed its debut fund with $200 million, short of its $250 million goal, news site Semafor reported, citing the firm's female founder, Huda Al Lawati. Backers of the fund include the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

Infrastructure investor Dalmore Capital is being acquired by Royal London Mutual Insurance Society, James Booth reports for sister publication Financial News in London. Dalmore manages about £6 billion, equivalent to around $8.05 billion. Britain’s Sky News said Royal London is paying about £130 million for the firm.

London asset manager Legal & General aims to cut around 70 jobs from its asset-management arm, David Ricketts reports for sister publication Financial News in London. L&G employs around 12,000 people, mostly in the U.K., and its asset-management business oversees around £1.1 trillion, or almost $1.48 trillion.

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

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

Follow us on Twitter:@wsjpe, @LHVGarcia, @LauraKreutzer