Good morning and welcome to the second half of November. We begin a new week with a original story by my colleague Chris Cumming that raises questions about the investments evergreen funds backed by retail investors are making in the private-equity secondary markets.

Also, Rockland Capital took less than eight months to raise $1.2 billion to acquire natural gas-fired power plants, another sign of investor appetite for such assets, as I write.

We have those stories and much more news below. So please, jump in…

Everyday investors are paying above-market prices for private-equity fund stakes, fueling questions about whether these investments are likely to pay off, Chris Cumming reports for WSJ Pro. A flood of money into so-called evergreen funds—vehicles that offer wealthy investors access to alternative assets such as private equity and private credit—has helped bail out private-markets managers in the postpandemic years, when they have struggled to raise money from institutions, their traditional funding source. Private-markets managers launched more than 250 of these funds since 2022, including a record 77 so far this year, and they have raised $450 billion in total, according to a recent report from PitchBook and Morningstar.

Rockland Capital has raised $1.2 billion in less than eight months for a new fund to buy natural gas-fired power plants that can be modernized as surging electricity consumption makes such assets increasingly important to back up renewable sources, WSJ Pro's Luis Garcia writes. The Woodlands, Texas-based private-equity firm wrapped up the fund, Rockland Power Partners V, with about 71% more capital than the roughly $700 million it collected for a predecessor vehicle that closed early last year. The firm so far has made two investments through the new fund, both in the U.K.

WSJ Pro is celebrating 10 years of publishing its annual "Women to Watch" list, a steadily growing list that highlights the accomplishments of outstanding women in the private-equity and private-credit fields. We're accepting nominations for the next class of senior deal professionals, rising star deal professionals, as well as limited-partner or fundraising professionals, and private-credit professionals, through Nov. 19, 2025. Submit your nominations here.

Buyout firm Leonard Green is in talks to acquire the driving-range unit of Topgolf Callaway Brands at a value of about $1 billion, the Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Topgolf Callaway had a market value of almost $2 billion as of Thursday’s close. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based company said over a year ago that it was exploring strategic options.

RedBird Capital Partners has abandoned its $660 million deal for Britain’s Daily Telegraph, further drawing out a yearslong saga for control of the 170-year-old newspaper, Ben Dummett reports for the Journal. The U.S. buyout firm, led by former Goldman Sachs banker Gerry Cardinale, dropped its bid Friday. The investment manager backed away because of concerns about securing regulatory approval and backlash against the deal from Telegraph staff, according to a person familiar with the matter.

BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and Spanish construction company ACS have agreed to form a joint venture to develop data centers, with an initial portfolio valued at about €2 billion, or roughly $2.33 billion, Adrià Calatayud reports for the Journal. The deal marks GIP’s latest push into infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence, an area the infrastructure investor has been focusing on lately.

Private equity firm KKR & Co. is providing $750 million in financing to an Indonesian conglomerate as it acquires ExxonMobil's retail fuel stations in Singapore, Megan Cheah reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The deal will help Chandra Asri Group operate the U.S. oil company's Esso-branded fuel stations in the city-state, according to New York-based KKR, which is investing through its private credit and insurance arms.

Warburg Pincus is leading a group that has agreed to acquire Toronto-listed ECN Capital in an all-cash deal that values it at an enterprise value of about 1.9 billion Canadian dollars, or about $1.35 billion, Stephen Nakrosis reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The buyers are offering C$3.10 per common share for the private-credit supplier with managed assets of about $7.6 billion. Major shareholder Champion Homes supports the deal. ECN originates loans backed by recreational vehicles, manufactured housing and boats. Law firm BakerHostetler advised ECN on the deal.

Specialist investor GI Partners and Legacy Investing have acquired the former Chicago Board Options Exchange building in downtown Chicago with plans to convert the 300,500 square foot building into a data center, according to an emailed news release. The investors cited the structure's cavernous spaces and over 20 megawatts of potential power supply as conducive to their plans. Local news reports including in the Chicago Sun-Times said the buyers paid about $40 million for the LaSalle Street edifice.

Blackford Capital is backing Texas Injection Molding, a Houston-based maker of precision-engineered industrial components. The support is expected to fuel the company's expansion, including through acquisitions.

Growth investor BGF and Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent have joined a $32 million investment in T-Therapeutics, which is developing substances for use in treating cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Transom Capital Group has acquired window glass company Binswanger Glass. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company provides commercial and residential design, engineering and installation services from 42 locations across 11 states.

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

Private equity-backed biotechnology company Cidara Therapeutics has agreed to be acquired by strategic buyer Merck in a $9.2 billion deal, Colin Kellaher reports for the Journal. Merck will pay $221.50 a share for Cidara, more than double Thursday’s closing price of $105.99 for the San Diego developer of a flu preventative. Firms that have held shares in the company include Venrock Health Care Partners, BVF and RA Capital Management, securities filings show.

Sentinel Capital Partners in New York has reduced its ownership of New York-listed auto performance parts supplier Holley, gradually selling down its stake in the company after it went public in 2021. Credit evaluator S&P Global Ratings said Friday that Sentinel's stake amounted to about 21% following a secondary share sale in September. Sentinel has been an investor in the Bowling Green, Ky., maker of carburetors, shifters and engine tuning parts since 2018, when it acquired the company and combined it with Driven Performance Brands. Holley had an equity value of around $470 million late last week.

Life sciences focused Sofinnova Partners has closed on €650 million, or about $755.3 million, for its latest flagship fund, Sofinnova Capital XI, far surpassing the European firm's initial target. The new vehicle is roughly 38% larger than its predecessor, which closed in 2021 with €472 million.

Bernhard Capital Partners founder Jim Bernhard died Sunday after a brief illness, the Baton Rouge, La., Advocate reported on its website. He was 71. Before founding the private-equity firm in Baton Rouge with Jeff Jenkins, currently a firm partner, Bernhard co-founded and led the Shaw Group, a construction company that went public and later was acquired by Chicago Bridge & Iron in 2013, when it had 27,000 employees and revenue of $5.9 billion, according to the Advocate. Bernhard started his eponymous private-equity firm the same year with Jenkins, also a veteran Shaw executive. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said "Louisiana "lost a giant" with Bernhard's passing, in a statement to the Advocate. Bernhard Capital closed on about $750 million for its debut fund in 2016 and this year reported managing about $4.85 billion at the end of last year.

Blackstone has hired Morgan Stanley's former global co-head of investment banking, Franck Petitgas, as it prepares for a major push in Europe, Paul Clarke reports for sister publication Financial News in London. Petitgas has been named vice-chair of Europe. The New York buyout firm, which is set to invest $500 billion in Europe over the next decade, has brought in Petitgas in the newly-created role to engage with clients in the region.

Secondaries investor Aquilius Investment Partners has appointed Martin Yung as managing director and head of private equity secondaries and Patrick Qian as principal, both based in a newly opened Hong Kong office. Both were previously with HarbourVest Partners.

Former Bank of New York Mellon wealth division head Catherine Keating has joined CVC Capital Partners as a non-executive director.

Growth equity investor Tsai Capital has appointed Richard Piliero to the firm's advisory committee, which provides investment and strategic guidance. Based in Dubai, he co-founded a Swiss-based digital family office platform that serves wealthy families and financial advisers.

Blue Owl Capital's multi-billion-dollar commitments to finance data center construction is a sign of just how quickly Wall Street has become the enabler of America’s artificial-intelligence boom, the Journal reports. Meanwhile despite recent selloffs in technology stocks, any worries on the Street about a possible investment bubble have largely been trumped by the fear of being left behind.

European buyout firm CVC Capital Partners has set up CVC Secondary Partners to invest in secondhand credit assets, including those led by fund general partners as well as limited partners. The Amsterdam-listed firm also posted a 1.4% decline in fee-paying assets under management to €142.1 billion, or about $165.31 billion, at the end of September compared with a year earlier. But assets rose by roughly the same proportion compared with the end of June.

The asset manager controlled by Deutsche Bank, DWS Group, has put investigations that had their roots in 2021 behind it, David Ricketts reports for sister publication Financial News in London. Stefan Hoops, who took over in 2022, has refocused the firm's operations, put more distance between it and Deutsche Bank and sought to diversify into things such as exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrencies.

Private credit manager Park Square Capital has teamed up with Japanese investment bank Nomura, which is committing $150 million to a Park Square midmarket fund as an anchor investor, Paul Clarke reports for sister publication Financial News in London. Nomura may also originate private-credit deals through the tie-up.

The private-credit boom is rapidly changing the investments made by U.S. life insurers, with some firms parking more than half the fixed-income assets they need to fund policies and annuities in hard-to-trade debt, Matt Wirz reports for the Journal, citing research by Moody’s. Two of the most exposed companies are Security Benefit Life Insurance, which is owned by Todd Boehly’s investment firm Eldridge, and Delaware Life Insurance, owned by Group 1001, not Nassau Financial Group as reported earlier.

Deutsche Bank's DWS Group asset management arm is joining with Nippon Life India Asset Management and will invest in the firm's Nippon Life India AIF Management alternatives unit to obtain a 40% stake. A passive investment manager, Nippon Life India Asset Management oversees about $85 billion, while its alternatives arm controls close to $1 billion.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ended September with net assets totaling 777.5 billion Canadian dollars, or about $553.93 billion, an increase of about 15% from the same period last year and 6.3% from the previous quarter, which began the board's 2026 fiscal year. Also known as CPP Investments, the asset manager posted a 5.4% net return for the just-ended quarter compared with 3.6% for the year-ago period.

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

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