The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record yesterday after pharmaceutical company Moderna reported positive results from its Covid-19 vaccine. The news follows encouraging results for another experimental vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE. All of the uncertainty that the pandemic has caused has had an unexpected upside for cash-rich midmarket private-equity firms, who now see a greater willingness among company founders to seek a private-equity partner that can help steer them through the uncertainty that may lie ahead, according to a panel of private-equity investors that participated in our virtual event on The Path Forward for the Middle Market. Also in this morning’s news, KKR & Co. is putting capital behind a new medical-device startup, while musical instrument retailer Guitar Center is inching closer to a bankruptcy filing.

Read on for more….

Midmarket private-equity investors are optimistic about the deal environment next year, when they expect to see a strong pipeline of new opportunities and a more stable political environment, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Chris Cumming writes. The brief deal freeze that hit the midmarket when the coronavirus pandemic first swept the world early this year is ending and mergers are expected to continue to pick up, said panelists at an online event Monday hosted by WSJ Pro Private Equity.

Duke Rohlen, who has led four medical-device companies to merger deals, has secured $100 million from investor KKR & Co. to bankroll a portfolio of medical-device developers, Brian Gormley writes for WSJ Pro Venture Capital. KKR provided the capital to Zeus Health LLC, a new company Mr. Rohlen is leading that plans to operate and invest in medical-device companies.

Guitar Center Inc., the country’s biggest music-instrument seller, said it expects to file for bankruptcy and emerge from court protection before year’s-end with nearly $800 million less debt, Andrew Scurria reports for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. Guitar Center, of Westlake Village, Calif., signed a prearranged restructuring agreement with controlling owner Ares Management Corp., equity investors Brigade Capital Management LP and Carlyle Group and a supermajority of bondholders.The company said it would implement the proposed deal through a chapter 11 filing to ease the way for a balance-sheet deleveraging that would cut nearly $800 million in debt. Equity investments of $165 million would come from Ares, Brigade and Carlyle, giving them stakes in the restructured Guitar Center, the company said.

Italian electronic payments company Nexi SPA has agreed to acquire Danish peer company Nets, which is backed by private-equity investors led by Hellman & Friedman, in an all-stock deal that aims to create a European leader in digital payment processing services. Nexi has already agreed to buy Italian payments technology company SIA SPA, which is owned by Italy’s strategic investment fund Cassa Depositi e Prestiti’s CDP Equity unit. The combined enterprise is expected to have adjusted 2020 pre-tax earnings of about €1.5 billion on roughly €2.9 billion in revenue this year, once both deals close. Investors in both Nexi and Nets include Bain Capital and Advent International, while Clessidra funds own a stake in Nexi. The most recent deal gives Nets an enterprise value of about €7.8 billion or an implied 20 times this year’s projected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Once both the Nets and SIA transactions close, CDP Equity would own 17% of the combined company, Hellman & Friedman would hold 21%, Advent and Bain Capital, 13%, Mercury UK 12%, Intesa Sanpaolo 6%, and GIC Private Equity, 4%, Nexi said in an investor presentation.

Private-equity firm American Securities has agreed to pay $19.25 a share in cash to take Foundation Building Materials Inc. private in a deal valued at roughly $1.37 billion including debt, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The price represents a 27% premium to Friday's closing price of $15.16 a share for the Santa Ana, Calif., company. Lone Star Funds acquired Foundation in 2015 and maintained a majority stake after the company's initial public offering in 2017.

AE Industrial Partners has closed a sale-leaseback transaction with Allegiant Travel Co. for four Airbus A319 aircraft, the firm’s  first aircraft-leasing transaction made from its AE Industrial Partners Aerospace Opportunities Fund. The company’s Allegiant Air is a low-cost, domestic leisure-business carrier based in Las Vegas.

DW Healthcare Partners, a midmarket firm focused on health-care deals, said it has backed CareXM, a telemedicine company focused on post-acute and non-acute health-care providers. CareXM is one of three investments out of DW Healthcare Partners’ fifth fund, according to a press release.

Middle market-focused Gryphon Investors in San Francisco has acquired industrial distributor Vessco Holdings from O2 Investment Partners, investing alongside company management. The Minneapolis-based company supplies process, flow-control, pumps and automation equipment and services to water and wastewater treatment utilities and industrial users. Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based O2 initially backed the company in November 2018.

Diversis Capital Partners I LP, a Los Angeles-based private equity fund that invests in lower middle-market data and technology companies, today announced a strategic growth investment in Retail Finance Intelligence PTY. LTD. (“RFi Group” or “RFi”).  With primary offices in Australia and the United Kingdom, RFi Group is a data-driven insights provider and thought leader to the global financial services industry.  As part of the transaction, co-founders Charles Green and Alan Shields, will maintain a significant minority ownership in the company and will continue to lead the company in their roles as CEO and COO, respectively.

KKR & Co. has invested in packaging systems maker CMC Machinery. The Città di Castello, Italy manufacturer supplies automated on-demand packaging technology that reduces material waste. KKR invested alongside Ponti family members who own and operate the 200-employee business in the Umbria region. The New York firm is investing in the business through its KKR Global Impact Fund.

Ares Management Corp. has converted a bond it held from Cologne, Germany-based Peach Property Group AG, becoming the largest holder of the company’s Switzerland-listed stock. Converting the 155 million Swiss franc (about $169.8 million) debt into shares gave the Los Angeles-based firm a roughly 30% stake in Peach, which has about 135 employees and owns and manages about 23,000 residential units in Germany. Ares acquired the convertible debt through a fund managed by its real estate group.

Bain Capital Real Estate and Magnolia Capital have formed a joint venture to invest in multifamily housing across the U.S. with initial plans to pump $900 million into the strategy over the next several years. The venture will initially concentrate on upgraded units built from 1975 to 2000 in Sunbelt markets and serving middle-income tenants.

Tiger Infrastructure Partners said that Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G PLC, has made a £150 million (about $198 million) investment in its battery power-storage portfolio company Zenobe Energy. A middle-market private-equity firm, Tiger Infrastructure initially invested in the provider of electric-vehicle infrastructure in 2017. The new capital infusion will enable the company to invest about £450 million in new charging stations and other facilities in the U.K.

Family office Souter Investments and Manfield Partners have agreed to buy eBAM, a financial-technology company, from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Lucy McNulty reports for sister publication Financial News in London. The company, which automates regulatory risk analysis for finance firms, is being rebranded as LikeZero. The sale was prompted by increasing scrutiny on conflicts of interest among accounting firms and rules that limit services that PwC and other firms in the sector can provide to clients.

EQT AB has acquired a majority stake in Thinkproject, a Munich-based software-as-a-service provider serving the architecture, engineering and construction industry, Dominic Chopping reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The Stockholm-based private-equity firm acquired the stake from TA Associates and company founder Thomas Bachmaier through its EQT IX fund. With the transaction, EQT expects the fund, which has a target size of €14.75 billion (or roughly $17.46 billion) will be 15%-20% invested.

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec said it has made a $150 million equity investment in CAE, a publicly traded company that offers training and operational support for industries that span civil aviation, defense and security, as well as health care. The investment will help facilitate CAE’s growth plans including the acquisition of Flight Simulation Company B.V., according to a press 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.

A blank-check company backed by BlackRock Inc. and led by a former Big Board president plans to raise $550 million through an initial public offering to finance the purchase of a private business looking to go public. Far Peak Acquisition Corp. intends to concentrate its hunt for a merger candidate on the financial technology, technology or financial services sectors, according to a regulatory filing by the special purpose acquisition company, which is led by Thomas W. Farley as chairman, CEO and president. Mr. Farley most recently led Far Point Acquisition Corp., a SPAC that acquired travel-oriented retailer Global Blue Group Holding AG and was previously president of the NYSE Group, which includes the New York Stock Exchange of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Mr. Farley is joined at Far Peak by David W. Bonanno as chief financial officer. He is a former managing director of New York hedge fund Third Point LLC who was also CFO of Far Point.

A blank-check company set up by a co-founder of Highland Capital Partners and two of its senior executives along with a co-founder of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s growth-equity arm Goldman Sachs Investment Partners plans to raise $250 million to purchase a digital business and bring it public, a regulatory filing shows. Ian Friedman, Bob Davis, Paul Maeder and Dan Nova founded Highland Transcend Partners I Corp. to target a business in the disruptive commerce, digital media and services or enterprise software sectors in North America or Europe. Mr. Friedman co-founded GSIP in 2015 while Mr. Maeder co-founded venture investment firm Highland Capital in 1987, with Messrs. Nova and Davis joining in 1996 and 2001, respectively. Mr. Friedman, who previously worked for Bain Capital, is the new SPAC’s CEO while Mr. Davis is the executive chairman. Mr. Nova is the SPAC’s chief investment officer and Mr. Maeder is the company’s chief financial officer. They are looking for a business that operates within the disruptive commerce, digital media and services, and enterprise software industries.

A special purpose acquisition company led by a former Apax Partners partner and a long-time technology company chief executive has filed to raise $200 million through an initial public offering to buy a private business and bring it public. Trepont Acquisition Corp I was co-founded by Arun Sarin as chief executive and Ori Sasson as president. Mr. Sarin is a former CEO of telecommunications company Vodafone Group PLC and earlier led the wireless spinoff of Pacific Telesis Group, AirTouch Communications. He has also served as a senior adviser to KKR & Co. and Accel-KKR. Mr. Sasson led technology and telecom companies before joining Apax and later founding growth and venture investment firm Primera Capital in 2007. Their SPAC aims to acquire a tech business that compliments the experience of its leaders.

Platinum Equity has agreed to sell building materials distributor PriSo Holding Corp. to Clearlake Capital Group. PriSo, which does business as PrimeSource, Platinum acquired the Irving, Texas-based distributor of specialty products in 2015 from Itochu Corp. The company has grown since then to include more than 1,100 employees and 34 distribution centers across the U.S.

Sun Capital Partners has agreed to sell dental practice administrative services provider ClearChoice Management Services to Aspen Dental Management. Sun Capital initially backed the operation about three years ago.

Mutares SE & Co. has agreed to sell its 80% stake in Italian post and package delivery service Nexive Group to Poste Italiane. The Milan-based company ranks second in the nation’s postal and parcel service market. Munich-based Mutares acquired its stake in July from PostNL, which remains an investor in the business, and began restructuring the Italian company.

STG Partners has wrapped up fundraising for it sixth flagship fund with $2.0 billion in commitments, including $1.85 billion from third-party investors. The STG VI fund was collected over just four months and had a target of $1.5 billion, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm said. Evercore Private Funds Group acted as the firm’s placement agent for the fund. The former Symphony Technology Group focuses on middle market enterprise software and software-enabled technology services companies.

Middle market investor Nexus Capital Management has raised $1.25 billion in capital commitments for its Nexus Special Situations III LP private-equity fund. The amount is more than double the size of the firm’s predecessor fund, which collected $550 million to close in 2018. The multi-strategy firm in Los Angeles makes private-equity and private credit investments.

Thomas H. Lee Partners has collected $900 million for its THL Automation Fund LP, which the Boston middle-market firm plans to use for investments in automation companies, including technology product, software and services businesses that enhance productivity across a range of end markets and use cases, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The firm said that while it has been investing in the sector since at least 2017, including current portfolio companies Autostore, Material Handling Systems, Fortna and Phytech, the new vehicle is its first sector-focused fund.

MSD Partners, formed by the family office of computer entrepreneur Michael Dell, has named Gregg R. Lemkau as a partner and the chief executive of the firm, starting in February. He will work alongside John Phelan, the firm’s co-founder and chief investment officer, who will continue to focus on overseeing the  firm’s strategy for investing its $15 billion in assets. Mr. Lemkau joins from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., where he has been co-head of the investment banking division since 2017.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board named Frank Ieraci as senior managing director and global head of active equities, which includes sustainable investing activities and backing pre-IPO companies. The pension fund investment manager also appointed him to its senior management team. He was previously a managing director and head of research and portfolio strategy for the Toronto-based organization, which he joined in 2007.

Corsair Capital’s infrastructure business has named Paul J. Cozza as an operating partner. Mr. Cozza is joining Corsair Infrastructure Partners from the North Carolina Ports Authority where he is the chief executive. The Corsair Capital arm manages $3.4 billion of investments in infrastructure assets.

Jay Clayton, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, will step down at the end of the year, the agency said Monday, the latest in a wave of planned departures as power changes hands in Washington, Paul Kiernan reports for The Wall Street Journal. A political independent nominated by President Trump, Mr. Clayton plans to leave the agency after more than three years in the position.

Home Depot Inc. has agreed to buy HD Supply Holdings Inc. for about $8.7 billion, beefing up its ability to distribute industrial products amid the pandemic and reuniting with a unit it sold off in 2007, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. HD Supply is a wholesale distributor of electrical, plumbing, janitorial and other supplies. Home Depot built HD Supply in the 2000s through an acquisition spree led by Robert Nardelli, a former chief executive. After a CEO change, the company sold the unit in 2007 to Bain Capital, Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice in a leveraged buyout worth $8.4 billion. The private-equity firms took HD Supply public in 2013 and are no longer listed as major investors.

Hicks Equity Partners, a private-equity firm with ties to a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, has held talks in recent months about acquiring and investing in Newsmax, an online news service that also operates a television network and is seen as a potential challenger to Fox News for an audience with conservative views, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Newsmax TV’s audience has expanded since Election Day, as it wins over viewers loyal to Mr. Trump who are frustrated that Fox News and other networks have declared Democrat Joe Biden the president-elect. Journal parent News Corp and Fox News-parent Fox Corp. share common ownership.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said its net assets rose about 5.1% during the third quarter, totaling 456.7 billion Candian dollars (about $347.8 billion) at the end of September, up from C$434.4 billion at the end of June and 11.% from C$409.6 billion at the end of March. The Toronto-based pension fund investment manager said it recorded a 5% net nominal return for the most recent quarter, and said it had 8.0% and 8.8% annualized net real returns for the past five and 10 years, respectively. The recent gains stemmed largely from a recovery in global public and private equity markets in July and August following the crash of stock markets in March. Nearly 25% of CPP assets, or roughly C$112.2 billion, were invested in private equity at the end of September.

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

Ted Bunker; Laura Cooper; Chris Cumming; Luis Garcia; Laura Kreutzer; Preeti Singh; Chitra Vemuri.

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