Welcome to yet another new day in unmapped public-health terrain, with New York so mired by the coronavirus that Vice President Mike Pence says everyone in the metro area should be quarantined and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared the whole state as an epicenter for the bug. The news for those spared from infection only gets worse, it seems, as fresh signs emerged Tuesday that the U.S. is headed for a very deep slump from efforts to contain the virus.

But people are doing things to combat the contagion, and not only the Washington lawmakers who reached a deal on an estimated $2 trillion stimulus package. In New Mexico, the state investment council is putting $100 million from its sovereign wealth fund into a loan pool to help affected businesses, as our Preeti Singh reports. And private-equity firms remain open for business. When it comes to the more routine aspects of life, the wheels of justice still turn, as our Chris Cumming shows with a report on a new twist in a lawsuit involving H.I.G. Capital. So please jump in...

New Mexico is setting up a $100 million fund to help mid-sized businesses hit by disruptions tied to the coronavirus pandemic and gave Sun Mountain Capital the job of managing the lending pool, WSJ Pro Private Equity's Preeti Singh reports. The money comes from funds overseen by the New Mexico State Investment Council, which approved the plan Tuesday at a council meeting. The New Mexico Recovery Fund is for companies based in the state with 40 to 50 employees.

Private-equity firm H.I.G. Capital will have to face claims that it stole a company’s confidential information during an auction process, a federal judge ruled, acting on a request to dismiss the case, Chris Cumming writes for WSJ Pro Private Equity. Translation-services company TransPerfect Global Inc. last year sued Lionbridge Technologies Inc., a competitor owned by H.I.G., as well as H.I.G.’s midmarket investment arm, alleging fraud and trade-secrets theft, among other claims.

Capital Constellation is building on its next-generation private-equity business by offering co-investment capital to managers it backs, Preeti writes. Founded in 2018, Constellation invests in private-equity firms with less than $3 billion in assets under management that are raising their first, second or third round of funds, or so-called “next-generation” firms. Now, after raising an additional $500 million since last fall, Constellation has launched a new unit to co-invest with its next-generation firms, said Daniel Adamson, president of Capital Constellation in New York.

Private-equity firm Riverside Co. has acquired Red Nucleus Enterprises LLC, a provider of online education and compliance training for the pharmaceuticals industry. Cleveland-based Riverside acquired Red Nucleus from midmarket investment firm Renovus Capital Partners, which purchased the company in 2016. Philadelphia-based Renovus retained a minority stake in Red Nucleus. 

TierPoint, a data center and cloud-based technology company said it has raised $320 million of preferred equity from a group of investors that include newcomers Argo Infrastructure Partners, Wafra Inc., and Macquarie Capital Principal Finance as well as existing investors Cequel III, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, RedBird Capital Partners, Stephens Group, and Thompson Street Capital Partners.

Carnelian Energy Capital Management has closed a commitment to Percussion Petroleum II, LLC, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration and production company that will acquire and develop onshore oil projects. The oil and gas-focused firm is financing the investment out of Carnelian Energy Capital III, L.P., which closed last year with $775 million in commitments.

Insolvent Italian executive jet maker Piaggio Aero Industries SPA on Tuesday extended the deadline for would-be buyers to submit formal expressions of interest to May 4 from April 3 previously, citing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Rome-based parent of Piaggio Aviation issued a public notice in late February saying the business is for sale. The aircraft manufacturer backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala entered Italian government administration in December 2018.

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

Churchill Asset Management said it has rounded up $2 billion in commitments for its second senior loan fund and related parallel vehicles. The firm plans to invest Churchill Middle Market Senior Loan Fund II in traditional senior and unitranche loans for midmarket private-equity backed companies, according to a press release. The fund is a successor to a $1.1 billion pool of funds that closed in 2017.

J.F. Lehman & Co. has raised at least $1 billion for JFL Equity Investors V LP, according to a regulatory filing. The firm typically invests $35 million to $150 million of equity in midmarket companies across industries that include aerospace, defense, marine, environmental products and services, as well as government-facing companies, according to its website. Investors that have disclosed commitments to the new fund include the Arlington County Virginia Employees' Retirement System, Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana, and the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, according to WSJ Pro Private Equity’s LP Commitments database. The new fund is larger than the $833 million that JF Lehman raised for its fourth flagship fund back in 2017. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC placed Fund V, the regulatory filing indicated.

Coefficient Capital has raised a $170 million fund with plans to invest in consumer staples that could weather a recession, Yuliya Chernova writes for WSJ Pro Venture Capital. Brands that offer “a clear functional benefit to consumers at a price point that’s reasonable” have better chances to thrive now, said Managing Partner Franklin Isacson, who co-founded Coefficient with Managing Partner Andrew Goletka.

Carl Marks Management Company is seeking $400 million for its latest special situations fund, Carl Marks Strategic Opportunities Fund III, L.P., a regulatory filing indicates. The firm invests its strategic opportunities funds in bonds or loans of midmarket companies that are undervalued, according to its website.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday asked asset manager BlackRock Inc. to steer tens of billions of dollars in bond purchases, Dawn Lim reports for The Wall Street Journal. BlackRock will purchase agency commercial mortgage-backed securities secured by multifamily-home mortgages on behalf of the New York Federal Reserve. The Fed will determine which securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae are suitable for purchase. BlackRock will execute the trades. The New York-based firm also will manage two large bond-buying programs involving investment-grade corporate bonds.

A TPG-sponsored mortgage-lending company is delaying dividend payments and said it is in danger of running out of money if market turmoil continues, a fresh sign that nonbank lenders are getting squeezed, Konrad Putzier reports for The Wall Street Journal. Private-equity firms, hedge funds and real-estate investment trusts took over the market for riskier commercial real-estate loans in recent years, filling a void left by banks after the financial crisis a decade ago. Publicly traded TPG RE Finance Trust Inc. owns $960 million in investment-grade commercial mortgage bonds, which it financed with $760 million in short-term revolving repurchase facilities from banks.

U.S. business activity contracted at its sharpest rate since 2009, in the wake of the financial crisis, as economic activity slowed around the world in recent weeks due to measures aimed at containing the coronavirus. Europe and Japan also saw precipitous drops, according to surveys of purchasing managers released on Tuesday, with services industries driving the declines. In the U.S., IHS Markit’s composite purchasing managers index—an aggregate measure of activity in manufacturing and services—fell to a seasonally adjusted 40.5 in March from 49.6 in February, the steepest decline since October 2009. A level below 50 indicates a contraction.

As air travel grinds to a halt, the International Air Transport Association forecast a 38% drop in global airline traffic this year, at a cost to carriers of $252 billion, more than double its previous projection of the coronavirus impact. In the U.S., aircraft maker Boeing Co. is seeking $60 billion in government loans for itself, suppliers and the industry. David Calhoun, the company’s chief executive suggested he would reject taxpayer aid if lawmakers require the government to take an equity stake in the beleaguered aerospace giant, during an interview broadcast by the Fox Business Network. In the U.K., the national government plans to take shares in airlines and other companies it aids to counter the effects of the coronavirus on their markets. Mr. Calhoun said if it came to that in the U.S., Boeing would turn to other options, of which there are many.

AEA Investors-backed 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. closed down all of its nearly 450 gyms in the U.S. and drew down the remainder of a $120 million line of credit in response to the coronavirus pandemic, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy’s Alexander Gladstone reported, citing a private report to company investors. The San Ramon, Calif.-based fitness chain said the shutdown took place last week. Other backers of the company include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Fitness Capital Partners LP.

Oil-and-gas company Sheridan Holding Company I LLC secured final court approval of its chapter 11 reorganization plan a little more than one day after filing for bankruptcy, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Aisha Al-Muslim reports. Sheridan Holding Company I LLC, a Houston-based oil-and-gas investment fund, sped through bankruptcy court within 28 hours of filing a prepackaged bankruptcy on Monday calling for a speedy takeover by its lenders with U.S. crude price hovering around $24 a barrel. The restructuring plan was unanimously backed by the fund’s creditors.

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