Welcome back. The summer vacation season is here, and that means airports are about to get busier. I’ll be flying to Florida soon as a tag along on a trip with some extended family.

To help airlines keep a robust fleet, KKR is committing $1.4 billion to aircraft leasing through a partnership with commercial aviation company Altavair, I report today.

Also in today’s news, Vermont became the third state since the start of last year to try to keep private equity out of the examining room, our Chris Cumming writes.

And a couple of Warburg Pincus executives in London are set to leave the New York buyout giant later this year to set up their own Europe-focused firm, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News.

Now, onto the news...

Multistrategy asset manager KKR & Co. aims to commit $1.4 billion to a new round of aircraft leasing through a partnership with commercial aviation company Altavair, expanding their operations in a market that has proven increasingly attractive to private investment firms, WSJ Pro's Isaac Taylor reports. The latest commitment from KKR follows two prior aircraft-leasing drives with Altavair, which the New York-based private-equity firm has backed since 2018. The new investment will be funded primarily from KKR’s infrastructure- and asset-based finance strategies.

Vermont became the third state since the start of last year to try to keep private equity out of the examining room, as physicians and lawmakers increasingly take a skeptical view of corporate investors in medicine, WSJ Pro’s Chris Cumming writes. The action may soon shift to the federal level. The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest doctors’ group, last week voted to seek a nationwide prohibition on corporate interference with physicians’ patient care, and to oppose certain legal structures commonly used by private-equity firms to invest in healthcare practices.

Two Warburg Pincus executives in London, Managing Director David Reis and Principal Rianne Schipper, are due to leave the buyout giant later this year to set up their own Europe-focused firm, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News in London. The duo have spent a decade working together for the New York-based firm and have focused on business services. Schipper joined Warburg in 2014 and two years later helped to set up the industrial and business services team in Europe with Reis when he joined from Goldman Sachs.

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

LongRange Capital in Stamford, Conn., is buying the Pizza Hut chain for about $1.5 billion from Yum! Brands in a deal that excludes the restaurants in China, the Journal reports. Louisville, Ky.-based Yum is selling the Chinese shops to Yum China Holdings for around $1.2 billion.

Carlyle Group's credit arm is extending the firm's backing of television and film investor Content Partners through a single-asset continuation vehicle. Carlyle first invested in Content Partners in 2015, according to research provider PitchBook.

FBG Bid Co. has completed the acquisition of assets of certain subsidiaries of FAT Brands for nearly $595 million. The transaction included 13 restaurant brands spanning more than 1,700 locations worldwide, including Fatburger and Johnny Rockets. The transaction was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas following a supervised sale process.

Riverside Co. is backing software supplier AssetIntel, whose applications are used to inspect, assess and manage transportation infrastructure assets including bridges, tunnels, dams and railways.

The midmarket strategy of CVC Capital Partners is acquiring a majority stake in medical prosthetics maker WillowWood Holdings, investing alongside Blue Sea Capital, the founding Arbogast family and company managers. The backing from CVC Catalyst is expected to fuel the company's expansion into Europe.

Francisco Partners has reached across the Atlantic to buy network automation and security products supplier EfficientIP in Paris. The sellers included company founders as well as minority backers TempoCap and Jolt Capital.

Growth investor Lead Edge Capital is backing electrical infrastructure components procurement business Elektrik.

Altaris in New York has agreed to take private drug development software and systems provider Simulations Plus for $18.50 per share in cash, making the deal worth around $375 million, Adriano Marchese reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The offer for the Nasdaq-listed company represents a 13% premium to Monday's close. Altaris, whose offer is backed by company directors, plans to combine the Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based business with portfolio company Chemical Computing Group, a maker of molecular design software.

Technology-focused TA Associates in Boston is backing Airs Medical, a provider of artificial intelligence-driven software and tech for medical imaging. The company supports more than 1,700 healthcare institutions across over 40 countries.

Camber Partners led a $62.5 million growth investment in customer contact software developer Respond.io, joined by Endeavor Catalyst and existing backers. The Malaysian company's systems knit together multiple social media, email and voice channels so clients can communicate with their customers and manage their relationships.

Walter Capital Partners, the private-equity arm of Montreal-based family office Walter Group, has backed a minority investment in Altea Active Club to support the Canadian fitness and wellness club operator’s expansion across Canada.

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

Accel-backed agentic artificial intelligence software developer Cursor has agreed to be acquired by Elon Musk's SpaceX for $60 billion in stock, more than double the company's value in a $2.3 billion investment round in November led by Accel and Coatue Management, the Journal reported. The San Francisco-based supplier of tools for "vibe coding" has been backed by Accel since last June, when the Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm led a previous growth investment in the business, legally named Anysphere.

New Mountain Capital has completed its sale of Cumming Group to fellow private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners. New Mountain initially backed the provider of project and cost management advisory services in 2021.

Bertram Capital in Foster City, Calif., is backing retail services provider Bluebird Group with a growth investment, investing through its fifth flagship fund. The recapitalization of the Minneapolis-based company also provided H.I.G. Capital in Miami with an exit as it is selling its minority stake in the company through the deal.

Align Capital Partners has wrapped up two funds with combined capital of over $1.1 billion, including $770 million for Align Capital Partners Fund IV and $375 million for Align Collaborate Fund II. The firm began fundraising for both vehicles in April and is the largest investor in both.

British investment manager Border to Coast Pensions Partnership plans to cut back on U.S. assets out of concern about the risks posed by backing a few California technology businesses, Reuters reports, citing Joe McDonnell, the organization's chief investment officer. Also known as B2C, the organization oversees around £120 billion, or about $161 billion, plans to lower allocations to U.S. investments by about 10%. The investor also avoids backing evergreen credit funds tailored to wealthy individuals because of the volatility caused by quarterly withdrawals.

Consonance Capital Partners has added Charlie Kolisek as a vice president at the healthcare-focused firm. Kolisek previously worked as an investment professional on the healthcare investment team at GTCR.

Special situations investor KPS Capital Partners has promoted three executives to partner level. Greg Boguslavsky will become partner, while Dan Gray has been elevated to partner, business development and Mark Callahan to partner, debt capital markets.

Sagewind Capital has appointed Dalia Khanafseh as a principal, portfolio operations. She joins from Astrion, where she served as president of transformation for the government technology company.

Ridgepost Capital in Dallas is adding Wendy Reese as director of operations, effective Thursday June 18, to enhance the multi-strategy firm's efficiency.

LongRange Capital joined a growing number of private-equity firms backing restaurant businesses with its $1.5 billion Pizza Hut deal, as Heather Haddon reports for the Journal. Private-equity firms have spent around $64 billion on U.S. restaurant deals since 2010, accounting for roughly 64% of total sector transactions during that time, according to data provider Dealogic. In the U.S., Pizza Hut is the second-largest pizza-restaurant operator behind Domino’s, with about 6,300 stores and $5.1 billion in domestic sales last year, according to market-research firm Technomic.

Congressional leaders said they’ve reached a deal on a bill that would ban large institutional investors such as Blackstone from buying single-family homes to rent out, improving the chances for the measure to become law, Joe Light reports for sister publication Barron's. The ban is included in a broader bill designed to make home ownership more affordable

One Investment Management is setting up a joint venture with SMBC Nikko Securities to make private-credit investments in Japan, according to an emailed news release. Targeted deals include providing debt for leveraged buyouts.

AtlantiCan Growth Partners has announced its official launch to focus on venture or growth investments across “Atlantic Canada”, which refers to Canada’s easternmost region, namely the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The firm aims to eventually launch three dedicated funds beginning with a $100 million to $150 million fund focused on industries such as aquaculture, marine technology, fisheries and ocean innovation.

Trivest Partners has formed residential pool services company AquaVerse to serve more than 10,000 customers through eight brands in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. The firm aims to roll up more brands through the Palm Beach, Fla.-based business.

Blackstone has set up SablePointe Credit Strategies focused on asset-based lending, including origination, underwriting and portfolio management. The Alpharetta, Ga.-based operation was established through the New York firm's credit and insurance arm, or BXCI. The firm tapped James Garlick, a co-founder of Blue Owl Capital business development company-owned Wingspire Capital, to manage SablePointe as president.

The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System approved a total of $100 million in commitments to two funds managed by midmarket firm SkyKnight Capital Partners. The pension system pledged up to $65 million to SkyKnight Capital Partners V and another $35 million to a co-investment sidecar vehicle. SkyKnight is seeking up to $1.75 billion for the new fund and aims to wrap up the fund in July, according to a memo prepared by the pension’s investment staff.

Uplift Investors-backed managed services organization Orion Legal MSO has added Atlanta personal injury law firm John Foy & Associates as a co-founding partner, according to the Darien, Conn.-based sponsor. Orion was set up earlier this year to offer back-office services as a way to invest in the legal industry, where ownership restrictions often apply.

Workers and retirees are pushing back in large numbers against the Trump administration's efforts to pry open 401(k) and other defined contribution savings plans as a source of investment capital for private-equity and other fund sponsors, Elijah Nicholson-Messmer reports for sister publication Barron's, citing an analysis of the public comments concerning a proposed Labor Department rule. The rule would give 401(k) plan advisers a legal "safe harbor" if they include such alternatives among investment choices or default vehicles, shielding them from potential lawsuits.

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