Good morning. Today our lineup features a couple of deal stories—seemingly a rare breed these days—as our Isaac Taylor reports on Goodwater Capital’s growth investment in faith-based app maker Hallow, which counts movie star Mark Wahlberg among its contributors.

Meanwhile, our Journal colleague Laura Cooper details a potential take-private transaction involving Francisco Partners and TPG. That deal values target New Relic, an online performance-tracking software maker, at roughly $5.8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Finally, our WSJ Pro Bankruptcy colleagues Andrew Scurria and Alexander Gladstone highlight an increasingly common development with their report on aircraft parts maker Incora’s preparations for a chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Texas company is backed by Platinum Equity.

We have these and many more deal stories summarized for you below, so please dive in...

Hallow, the company behind a faith-based app of the same name, has received a $50 million growth investment led by Goodwater Capital to help the business expand internationally, Isaac Taylor reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. Hallow’s two most recent cash infusions show the resilience of the for-profit religion sector as both investment rounds occurred during times of economic uncertainty. The latest investment arrives about a year after actor and entrepreneur Mark Wahlberg began supplying content for the business. Hallow’s app offers exclusive prayers, sermons and reflections for meditation tied to Wahlberg’s recent film, “Father Stu.”

​​Private-equity firms Francisco Partners and TPG are working together on a $5 billion-plus bid to acquire software company New Relic, Laura Cooper reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Should there be a deal, it could be reached in the next few weeks, according to the people. Shares of New Relic closed at $83.84 Wednesday, up 11%, after the Journal reported the potential deal, giving the San Francisco company a market value of roughly $5.8 billion. New Relic’s software lets businesses track performance of mobile applications and online services.

Platinum Equity-backed Incora, a distributor of airplane parts, is preparing to file for bankruptcy within weeks, after missing interest payments and facing creditor lawsuits, Andrew Scurria and Alexander Gladstone report for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy, citing people familiar with the matter. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company is seeking financing to fund a chapter 11 restructuring, the people said. Incora is in talks with lenders in an effort to enter bankruptcy with a negotiated restructuring agreement, they said. Incora struggled during the pandemic as declining jetliner production curbed demand for new components and reduced air traffic hurt demand for spare parts.

Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic and Mubadala co-led a $2 billion growth investment in online apparel company Shein through a transaction that values the business at about $66 billion, roughly a third less than a year earlier, Jing Yang reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing people close to the company. Based in Singapore, Shein generated $23 billion in revenue last year and a net profit of $800 million, the people said. Sales are expected to rise 40% this year.

A Cerberus Capital Management-backed company has emerged as the lead bidder for Richard Branson’s satellite-launch venture Virgin Orbit, Becky Yerak reports for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. The bankrupt startup selected a $17 million offer from Stratolaunch, a Cerberus portfolio company, for assets that include a modified Boeing 747 aircraft known as Cosmic Girl. Once valued at billions of dollars, Long Beach, Calif.-based Virgin Orbit sought protection from creditors in early April, saying that it couldn’t secure enough funding in a hypercompetitive market and that it would look for a buyer.

Technology-focused buyout firm Silver Lake submitted its formal bid to take private Germany’s Software AG in a transaction valued at about €2.4 billion, equivalent to about $2.61 billion, Reuters reported. Company management is backing the €32 a share offer even though Bain Capital-backed Rocket Software has offered €34 a share and has indicated it could raise it to €36, Reuters said. Silver Lake already owns a substantial stake in the German company and has secured backing from a related foundation that gives it control of a combined 30% share in Software AG’s equity.

Sustainable-infrastructure investor Generate Capital in San Francisco is committing as much as $250 million to green hydrogen company Ambient Fuels, according to a news release. New York-based Ambient is developing hydrogen fuel infrastructure, work that will expand with the new investment, according to the release.

Family offices Centaurus Capital and BoltRock Holdings led a $225 million growth investment in water technology company Gradiant at a $1 billion valuation, according to the company. Based in Woburn, Mass., Gradiant designs and builds water treatment systems for manufacturers including Pfizer and Coca-Cola, according to a news release. John Arnold in Houston founded Centaurus while Craig Huff is the founder and managing member of BoltRock in New York.

​​Oakley Capital said it raised a continuation fund that let it shift ownership of German university education company IU Group to Oakley Capital Fund V from Oakley Capital Fund III, with commitments from the GP Solutions unit of TPG, HarbourVest Partners, Goldman Sachs Group’s asset management arm, Glendower Capital and Pantheon. The company has performed significantly better than expected since Oakley invested in 2017 and will deliver an 85% gross internal rate of return to the firm’s third fund, according to a spokesman. The online education company has more than 100,000 students and is projected to generate around €500 million in revenue this year, according to an emailed news release.

Specialist firm NGP Energy Capital Management in Dallas and Aventurine Partners in Houston led a $75 million growth investment in rare-earth magnet maker Noveon Magnetics, according to a news release. The San Marcos, Texas-based company said it expects to produce 2,000 tons of neodymium magnets annually starting next year and has locked in a supply of critical metal from Australian Strategic Materials. Noveon’s magnets are used in industrial applications and in electric motors.

Healthcare-focused Sofinnova Partners and the venture investment arm of computer chip maker Nvidia, NVentures, led a $55.4 million investment in robotics company Moon Surgical, joined by existing investor Cathay Capital’s health strategy. The French-American company is developing robotic systems for use in operating rooms, according to a news release from Cathay.

Software specialist Vista Equity Partners said it is backing supply chain analytics company Resilinc with a growth investment from the firm’s Endeavor Fund. Milpitas, Calif.-based Resilinc’s software maps, monitors and assesses risks and resiliency of supply chains worldwide, according to a news release.

Celesta Capital and Mayfield Fund led an $81 million investment in internet technology startup Auradine, joined by Cota Capital and Marathon Digital Holdings, among other investors, according to a news release. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company concentrates its development efforts on web security, blockchain technology and privacy, according to its website.

Summit Partners-backed Adviser Investments is acquiring the wealth advisory business of Boston law firm Ropes & Gray to create a business with nearly $15 billion of client assets, Kenneth Corbin reports for sister publication Barron’s. The Boston-based law firm said it is spinning out Ropes Wealth Advisors and the co-leaders of its private client group, Brenda Diana and Martin Hall are going with it as Newton, Mass.-based Investment Adviser’s chief fiduciary officer and managing director, respectively. They are also forming a new law firm to provide estate, tax and charitable planning services, according to Ropes & Gray. Summit, which first backed Adviser Investments with a growth investment in 2020, said it will share ownership with the management of the firm and of Ropes Wealth.

Canadian private-equity firm Onex said its lower midmarket-focused strategy Oncap is making a “significant investment” in medical device contract manufacturer Biomerics, a Salt Lake City company that is combining with the medical business of Onex-backed Precision Concepts. The Toronto-based investment firm said Biomerics-backer Wasatch Equity Partners is participating in the transaction along with the family that owned Precision Concepts Group in Winston-Salem, N.C. when Onex acquired it last month through its Oncap IV fund. Onex said the Biomerics investment is the first from its Oncap V fund.

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

Ares Management and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board are further reducing their stakes in building products manufacturer AZEK, which the firms took public in 2020, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The credit-focused firm and the pension system are each selling around 7 million shares in the Chicago company, an amount that could rise to more than 8 million each if the underwriters exercise their options for more of the stock. Following the sale, both investors said they would own between 4.2% and 4.9% of the company’s equity, down from 9.5% each currently.

BroadLight Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, has closed a $225 million fund to back growth-stage technology companies in sectors including consumer and e-commerce, a rare achievement during a difficult period for fundraising, Marc Vartabedian reports for WSJ Pro Venture Capital. The firm will use its partners’ entertainment and media connections to gain access to deal flow and to enlist celebrities to help market the companies it invests in, said BroadLight co-founder and managing partner David Dorfman.

As SoftBank Group’s losses on WeWork continue to pile up, a familiar face has come to the rescue, Eliot Brown writes for The Wall Street Journal. Longtime SoftBank financier Rajeev Misra’s new investment fund, One Investment Management, recently agreed to provide nearly $500 million of high-interest debt to the office space provider. The slug of cash, disclosed in the fine print of WeWork securities filings, is one of the first big investments Misra has made since he gave up most of his duties at SoftBank, though he retained oversight of the firm’s Vision Fund.

Cerberus Capital Management in New York said it has hired retired Air Force Gen. John Raymond as a senior managing director on the firm’s supply chain and strategic opportunities platform. Raymond served 38 years in the military, most recently as chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, leading that branch from its creation in 2019 until last year, according to a press release.

Great Hill Partners has added three professionals in its London office, according to the firm’s LinkedIn page. Mats Heimes and Chris Wilson join as vice presidents, while Erik Kreukniet has come aboard as an associate. Meanwhile, the firm has hired Tara Andrews as an associate and Paige Shetty as an ESG specialist, both in its Boston headquarters, according to LinkedIn.

Kain Capital, a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled healthcare services companies, has hired Idan Eidlman as a vice president at the firm. Eidlman previously led investments in direct deals and funds at Israeli company Phoenix Insurance, according to a press release.

A survey of private-equity sponsors and fund investors showed that two-thirds of firm managers and 41% of fund limited partners said that high interest rates pose the greatest threat to private-equity performance. But survey sponsor Moelis, a New York investment bank, said that just 14% of LPs have changed their approach to private-equity investing since interest rates began moving higher last year. Moelis said that 66% of the more than 80 fund investors surveyed indicated that they expect to commit at least three-quarters of their available capital this year to funds sponsored by firms that they have invested with previously and more than 20% said they were interested in investing in professional sports.

More than half of executives of firms with meaningful exposure to private debt surveyed by S&P Global Market Intelligence said the key factors driving rapid expansion of the asset class over the past few years have been the increasing size of the market for private credit, while 45% cited volatility in markets for publicly traded securities, according to a news release. While 70% of the 30 survey respondents said they expect to expand in the asset class over the coming year or two, many noted the challenges that come with managing strategies that can involve holding hundreds of individual loans, citing higher levels of legal and document risk.

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