Welcome back. Today I report that a syndicate of lenders arranged by KKR & Co. is backing portfolio company Sol Systems with $675 million in financing. The lending facility is expected to back solar projects to provide enough electricity for nearly 84,000 homes. 

In Washington, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days that will open private-equity investing to 401(k) retirement plans, the Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Now onto the news...

A syndicate of lenders arranged by minority investor KKR & Co. is providing $675 million in credit to renewable-energy company Sol Systems. The three-year commitment will initially fund 500 megawatts of "shovel-ready" solar power and storage projects in Illinois, Ohio and Texas. That amount of energy can power 83,725 average American homes, according to the company. 

President Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days designed to help make private-market investments more available to U.S. retirement plans, the Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The order would instruct the Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide guidance to employers and plan administrators on including investments like private assets in 401(k) plans, the people said.

Investment firm Aquarian Holdings is in exclusive talks to acquire the U.S. life insurer and annuities provider Brighthouse Financial, the Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal would mark the end of a competitive process for Brighthouse, which has drawn interest from a number of other big private-equity firms, including TPG. Nasdaq-listed Brighthouse has a market value of about $2.82 billion.

Existing investors TPG, Mitsubishi and M&G's Infracapital investment arm have ponied up an additional £100 million, or about $134.3 million, to back electric vehicle recharging station operator Gridserve's U.K. expansion. The company's charge points are sited along the nation's busiest roads.

Northleaf Capital Partners and Boston-based investment firm Avalt are acquiring laundry infrastructure services provider Wash Multifamily Holdings from European buyout firm EQT AB. The company services laundry rooms for over 80,000 apartment buildings and school facilities under long-term contracts from 34 branch locations across the U.S. and Canada. EQT has backed the company since 2015, investing through its infrastructure strategy, according to the firm's website.

Midmarket private-equity firm Sterling Group in Houston is acquiring a majority interest in packaging company Precision Concepts International from the buyout arm of Onex Corp., Oncap, which is retaining a minority stake alongside company management. The Huntersville, N.C., company develops and produces rigid packaging used for consumer products.

Fortress Investment Group, along with Goal Aircraft Leasing, has acquired four new Embraer E195-E2 twin-engine aircraft from Porter Airlines in Canada and is leasing the planes back to the operator, while Goal will provide servicing for the single-aisle airliners. Fortress is backing the deal through its asset-based credit strategy.

Warren Point Capital and FemHealth Ventures have joined a $53 million growth investment in brain cancer treatment developer GT Medical Technologies along with existing backers of the company. Other participants included Evidity Health Capital and Accelmed Partners. The Tempe, Ariz.-based company is expanding its radiation system for treating brain tumors.

Centana Growth Partners led a $47.5 million investment round in CertifID, whose systems are used to prevent wire fraud in real estate transactions. Arthur Ventures also participated in the round.

Trinity Hunt Partners is backing paving company Dacs Asphalt & Concrete as the first leg of a buy-and-build strategy in the sector. The Denver company provides parking lot maintenance and reconstruction services.

Sundance Growth, an investment firm founded by former Accel-KKR professional Christian Stewart, said in an emailed press release that it has backed a growth investment in Molecule Software, a provider of energy trading and risk management software. The deal comes close on the heels of the closing of Sundance’s debut fund.

OrbiMed led an $85 million growth investment in dental healthcare company VVardis. Healthcare-focused OrbiMed invested $35 million in the round in February and worked with the Swiss company to close on another $50 million more recently. The company makes products to treat early tooth decay without drilling.

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is joining Queensland, Australia sovereign wealth fund QIC in backing land-finance company Renewa with a $200 million investment. La Caisse, as the pension investor prefers to be known, is acquiring an equity stake in the QIC Infrastructure-backed business. Renewa specializes in setting up financing for land used for renewable energy projects.

Private-equity firm MML Capital in London is acquiring the keg and other brewery equipment rental business of Close Brothers Group, though the merchant banking company is retaining a related finance operation, which has a loan book totaling about £35 million, or $47 million, Elena Vardon reports for Dow Jones Newswires. London-listed Close Brothers manages more than one million kegs and casks from three U.K. sites serving over 500 breweries there and in Ireland.

Unity Partners in Dallas is backing property repair and maintenance company Byng Group with a "strategic investment," according to an emailed news release. The Toronto company works with owners and managers of multifamily residential properties and senior living facilities to ensure units that come up for sale are in good condition and ready for transfer.

Vision Ridge Partners is backing renewable energy startup GSSG Chikuden in Japan with a $400 million commitment, according to an emailed news release. The capital will be used by the company, a joint venture between Vision Ridge and portfolio company GSSG Solar, to set up utility-scale battery systems across Japan.

Nautic Partners has acquired cybersecurity company AccessIT Group, based in King of Prussia, Pa. The firm invested alongside company management.

Cresta Fund Management in Dallas is backing Lapis Carbon Solutions, which is developing carbon-capture systems and storage methods for high-intensity emission sources. Cresta is investing through its Cresta Sustainable Fund II.

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Bow River Capital in Denver has sold commercial building services provider Progressive Roofing to strategic buyer TopBuild in an all-cash deal valued at $810 million. Bow River first backed the Phoenix-based company in September 2021.

Altamont Capital Partners-backed Accelerant Holdings plans an initial public offering of shares priced from $18 to $20 each that could give the data-driven risk exchange for insurance underwriters and risk capital a market capitalization topping $4 billion, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Altamont, Accelerant's majority shareholder with over 95% of the company's Class A shares, plans to sell some of its holdings in the IPO but will retain voting control after the offering. Altamont has backed the company since February 2019.

Turning Rock Partners has sold telecommunications business South Reach Networks to Blue Owl Capital, which invested through its digital infrastructure strategy. Turning Rock has backed the Miami-based business since at least May 2020. South Reach has developed hybrid fiber-optic networks along 370 miles of the state's east coast.

Midmarket-focused Teleo Capital has sold a majority stake in airline catering management software supplier Paxia to Liberty Hall Capital Partners. Teleo acquired the business, whose products are used by airlines such as Delta, Cathay Pacific and British Airways, in 2019 through a carveout from Swiss company Gategroup.

Partners Group in Switzerland is trying to sell restaurant chain Côte, which the firm acquired out of administration for £55 million, or about $73.6 million, in 2020, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News in London, citing people familiar with the situation. The company operates around 70 stores, generating sales of over £150 million last year.

Churchill Asset Management has raised at least $1.19 billion so far for Churchill Secondary Partners II, according to a regulatory filing.

Family-backed investment firm Fair Aim Capital in London has set up a lower midmarket-focused fund with £30 million, or about $40.3 million, to invest in U.K. companies aiming to implement artificial intelligence technologies in their operations. Fair Aim plans to back businesses with adjusted pre-tax earnings of £1 million to £3 million, taking minority stakes and working with management to adapt AI to their models.

Former Brightstar Capital partner Matthew Allard has formed private-equity firm Case Study Capital Partners with Jeffrey Cordover and Charles Hill. The Greenwich, Conn.-based firm aims to buy and expand founder- and family-owned businesses in the services and industrials sectors. Allard is the firm's managing partner, while Cordover is a founding partner and Hill is a vice president.

Specialist private-equity firm AE Industrial Partners has appointed Oscar Torres as an operating partner. He is a former president and chief executive of one-time AE Industrial portfolio company Kellstrom Aerospace, which was sold to VSE Corp. in December. AE Industrial focuses on backing companies in the defense, aerospace and industrial services areas.

Stellex Capital Management has appointed Russell Jenkins as commercial excellence operating partner, a new role. He joins from Investor Group Services in Boston.

Angeles Equity Partners in Los Angeles has named Tanner Pattee as head of talent acquisition within the firm's operations group. He was previously in a similar role with Alpine Investors.

BlackRock’s assets rose to a record $12.53 trillion in the second quarter, buoyed by record-high U.S. stock prices and $68 billion of net client inflows, Jack Pitcher reports for the Journal. That is up 18% from a year ago.

Blackstone plans to invest as much as $25 billion in Pennsylvania data center projects and power generating plants to run the energy-hungry sites once they're stuffed with computer servers. The New York firm is investing through QTS, a data center operator it backs, and is partnering with Allentown, Pa.-based utility PPL to develop electricity-generating plants through a joint venture. Construction work on the initial sites is expected to start in 2028.

Partners Group in Switzerland collected about $12 billion for its investment funds in this year's first half, increasing its total assets under management by almost 17% to about $174 billion at the end of June from a year earlier. The firm cited solid investor demand for its funds, despite what Chief Executive David Layton described as "a broadly muted fundraising environment" during the just-ended period. Fundraising by Partners increased about 9.1% from the first half of last year and the firm expects to collect from $26 billion to $31 billion in new capital commitments for all of 2025, including $4 billion raised by recently acquired Empira Group.

Brookfield Asset Management and affiliate Brookfield Renewable have agreed to supply as much as 3 gigawatts of hydroelectric power to Alphabet's Google unit. The initial phase of the agreement calls for Brookfield's Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydroelectric projects in Pennsylvania, with 670 megawatts of capacity. Both are being relicensed by Brookfield and are committed to 20-year power purchase agreements to support Google operations.

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