Good morning.

Today I report on the latest fundraising in the surging field of sports investing: Ariel Investments raised one of the largest funds ever dedicated to women's sports.

Luis Garcia reports on an $85 million growth investment in nuclear-power startup Newcleo, which is developing a small modular reactor that uses recycled fuel and is cooled with lead.

Alicia McElhaney reports that a Clayton, Dubilier & Rice-backed company has raised the hackles of its creditors by trying to tap a bankruptcy loan.

Now onto the news ...

Chicago asset manager Ariel Investments has closed one of the largest funds ever dedicated  to women’s sports, Chris Cumming reports for WSJ Pro. The firm has raised $250 million and plans to raise more, said firm co-chief executive Mellody Hobson, who did not specify a fundraising target. The Ariel sports unit, called Project Level, has already acquired a women's professional soccer team in Denver and a volleyball league.

European investors including Azimut Group backed an $85 million growth investment in nuclear-energy startup Newcleo, which is developing a small modular reactor cooled with lead and powered by recycled fuel, Luis Garcia reports for WSJ Pro. Italian firms Kairos Partners and Indaco Ventures also backed the deal. Newcleo last year signed an agreement with Oklo, a developer of small reactors that is backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, to invest as much as $2 billion in U.S. nuclear-fuel reprocessing infrastructure.

Packaging and label company Multi-Color, which is backed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, has secured access to a bankruptcy loan that opposing lenders say unfairly subordinates their claims against the company, reports Alicia McElhaney for WSJ Pro. New Jersey bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan approved the loan with a few concessions, and rival lenders say they want to appeal.

The alternatives arm of Goldman Sachs led a $75 million growth investment in audit and advisory services provider Fieldguide, joined by new investor Geodesic and several existing backers in a deal that valued the company at about $700 million. The San Francisco company uses agentic artificial intelligence technology to modernize the audit process.

Josh Harris's 26North Partners has acquired a controlling interest in the residential kitchen business of Middleby Corp. and renamed the operation as Composition Brands, offering high-end residential appliances such as Viking and Rangemaster as well as outdoor furnishings. Middleby remains a minority investor. Apollo Global Management co-founder Harris formed the private-equity firm in 2022 and it now manages over $32 billion.

Technology investor TA Associates is backing insurance settlements specialist Forge Cos., based in Atlanta. Forge operates four core business lines: Forge Consulting, Advocacy Wealth Management, Advocacy Trust and Forge Capital.

Helios Investment Partners in London has raised its buyout offer for London-listed financial technology company CAB Payments, which rejected the £213.5 million, or $292.2 million, takeover approach as undervaluing the company, Ian Walker reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The proposal for the specialist in handling foreign exchange and payments in hard-to-reach markets represented a nearly 17% premium to CAB's closing price of 72 pence on Friday and sent the shares up 3.2% Monday to close at 74.6 pence. Helios already holds just over 50% of the company's shares.

Warburg Pincus and new backer Coliseum Capital Management led a $123.9 million growth investment in financial technology company Varo Bank, joined by other existing investors. The chartered bank in San Francisco began as a financial services app in 2017 and provided $547 million in credit to consumers last year.

Novacap has formed HyscaleIX Data Centers with joint-venture partner H5 Data Centers and acquired three established sites from 365 Data Centers in the Buffalo, N.Y., Nashville, Tenn., and Tampa, Fla., markets. HyscaleIX also plans to acquire a fourth site in the Midwest.

Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to acquire industrial real estate investment trust Peakstone Realty Trust in a take-private transaction with an implied value of $1.2 billion. The $21 per share purchase price represents a 34% premium to the REIT’s Jan. 30 share price and the transaction is subject to a 30-day go-shop period ending March 4. The Peakstone Realty Trust portfolio holds 76 industrial properties, including 60 industrial outdoor storage (IOS) properties and 16 traditional industrial properties.

Woven Capital and Janus Henderson Investors were among investors who joined a $270 million equity investment in space and defense communications company CesiumAstro, led by Trousdale Ventures. The deal was made alongside the provision of $200 million in financing from JPMorgan Chase and the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

Nautic Partners has backed infusion therapy developer KabaFusion with a growth investment, providing an exit for Novo Holdings. The company has licenses to serve patients in 45 states, including through 21 ambulatory clinics. Novo first invested in the company in November 2022.

Government and engineering specialist DC Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in  artificial intelligence technology company Knexus in Vienna, Va. The company has worked with dozens of U.S. agencies.

Leonid Capital Partners in Palo Alto, Calif., has invested in chemical waste-focused AxNano, a Durham, N.C.-based company that is developing a system designed to destroy so-called forever compound PFAS. The chemical is often found on military base sites as well as industrial and municipal waste locations.

RoundTable Healthcare Partners is backing skincare products developer Colorescience, which distributes direct to consumers as well as through dermatologists and online channels. RoundTable is investing in the Carlsbad, Calif., company from its $800 million third fund.

Liberty Street Funds, Future Food Fund and Portfolia Funds were among participants in a roughly $50 million growth investment in supply chain-focused GrubMarket, valuing the food supply automation company at about $4.5 billion.

Trinity Capital is backing U.K. used auto online classified-advertising site operator Motorway with a £25 million growth investment, equivalent to about $34.2 million. The site carries listings from over 7,500 dealers.

FitzWalter Capital abandoned its campaign to acquire London-listed Auction Technology Group after the company rejected its latest offer of 400 pence a share, which valued the company's equity at about £491 million, or $672 million, spurring a drop in the company's shares Monday. FitzWalter said its bid was for the entire company, which offers online sales mechanisms for industrial and commercial equipment as well as fine art and antiques. Auction Technology said the latest proposal undervalued its business.

Crestview Partners has acquired aviation services company Tailwind Hospitality from Palladin Consumer Retail Partners, investing alongside company management and AltitudeX Aviation Group. Tailwind provides food, beverage and retail shops at smaller airports. Palladin said it invested in the business in November 2021.

Investment firms Eclipse and 1789 Capital led a $220 million growth commitment to metal manufacturer VulcanForms, joined by others including Washington Harbour Partners. The deal comes amid rising demand for U.S.-sourced metal products for use in industries including aerospace and medical devices. The Massachusetts company based in the state-supported industrial district called Devens operates digital manufacturing plants there that use three-dimensional printing technologies.

Center Rock Capital Partners has acquired the control devices operations of Stoneridge in Novi, Mich., at a base price of $59 million.

Ares Management and strategic investor DaVita are investing in home health and personal care services provider Elara Caring to help the Dallas company expand. Currently, Elara serves more than 60,000 patients and clients in 18 states. Ares is investing through its private-equity strategy.

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

Buyout firm CVC Capital Partners and other investors are selling Japanese cosmetics company FineToday to Bain Capital in Boston. Reuters reported earlier that the deal valued the company at around ¥200 billion, or roughly $1.28 billion, citing a Nikkei report. Investing through its fifth Asia-focused fund, CVC carved the business out of Shiseido in 2021.

Clairvest has exited its stake in Acera Insurance Services with its combination with Navacord, receiving gross proceeds of about 407 million Canadian dollars, or roughly $297.5 million, including 20% in the form of a promissory note payable over two years.

Bernhard Capital Partners in Baton Rouge, La., has sold Gray Casualty & Surety to Nasdaq-listed Palomar Holdings. Bernhard first backed the business in 2021.

Technology investor Hg in London has amassed nearly $30 billion across three new funds, Sebastian McCarthy writes for sister publication Private Equity News in London, citing people familiar with the process. The fresh capital includes some $14 billion for the firm’s large-cap focused Saturn fund, €8.5 billion, or roughly $10 billion for its latest mid-market Genesis fund and €3.5 billion for its latest small-cap focused Mercury fund.

Silver Point Capital in Greenwich, Conn., has collected over $394.8 million so far for Silver Point Private Credit Fund, which the firm has been raising since 2024, according to a securities filing. The private credit manager listed 794 investors in the vehicle.

Private equity firm Goldenpeak has added former Inflexion dealmaker Andreas Constantinides to its ranks as a partner as the firm builds out its London team, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News in London.

Brighton Park Capital has hired Connie Heil as a principal with its healthcare team. She joins from Arsenal Capital Partners.

European midmarket investor Capza has appointed Antoine Druais as a partner and co-head of its flex market team. He joined the firm in June.

OceanSound Partners, a private equity firm focused on technology and tech-enabled services companies serving aerospace, defense, government services and other regulated end markets, has made a raft of promotions and new hires. They include elevating Addison Nordin to partner and adding multiple people to the firm’s investment and operations teams.

Waud Capital Partners has hired Prithvi Raj as chief AI and data officer, a new role. He most recently served in a similar post with Newmark.

A Michigan pension backed a coffee plantation in Hawaii and a renewable energy technology company in Switzerland, with losses amounting to $86 million and $53 million, respectively, providing an expensive lesson in the perils of private-markets investing with retirement funds, Heather Gillers reports for the Journal. The $16 billion Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan sought to reduce expenses of backing private-equity funds as a limited partner by investing directly in deals, an increasingly popular strategy among retirement systems globally.

Charlesbank Capital Partners’ technology opportunities investment team has spun out to form Eterna Growth Partners, a standalone firm focused on investments in midmarket technology deals, according to an emailed news release. The team will continue to manage the $2.3 billion of capital raised across its two funds and 19 companies in its portfolio. Managing Directors Darren Battistoni and Hiren Mankodi lead Eterna alongside Managing Directors Mayur Desai, Bhuvan Jain, Dhruva Kaul and Michael Zirngibl.

Inspired Healthcare Capital, a specialist in developing and operating housing for older residents, sought bankruptcy court protection late Monday as it explores strategic alternatives, including potential sales and steps to reduce debt. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm filed a chapter 11 petition in U.S. bankruptcy court in Fort Worth, Texas. Inspired said it would keep its 35 communities that serve 2,620 residents in 14 states open during the restructuring process and has a commitment for $35 million in financing from Lapis Municipal Opportunities Fund V.

Patria Investments is acquiring Chicago-based private-equity firm WP Global Partners for a price equivalent to about 1.7% of fee-earning assets managed by the firm plus cash earn-outs to be paid in 2029, subject to performance. The deal will add roughly $1.8 billion to Nasdaq-listed Patria's private-markets fee-generating assets, bringing the total to around $13.3 billion as of the end of September. Overall, Patria manages over $51 billion.

Nearly three-quarters of 333 family offices with an average net worth of $1.6 billion don't invest in gold as a hedge against inflation or market volatility, and almost 90% don't hold any cryptocurrencies, preferring tangible assets instead, according to survey for JPMorgan Chase's private bank. About two-thirds indicated they were prioritizing investments in artificial intelligence technology, but over 70% don't have any infrastructure holdings, the survey shows, and half have no investments in venture or growth investment funds.

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

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