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First, Colin Kellaher reports on Apollo’s $3.5 billion deal to sell Aspen Insurance to Japan’s Sompo Holdings, the latest example of private to public and back again. Apollo acquired Aspen for $2.6 billion in 2019 and took the insurer public in May.

And Paul Berger writes about BlackRock and Flexport’s $250 million financing pool to help U.S. importers confronting ballooning tariff bills.

Read on…

Apollo Global Management has struck a deal with Japan’s Sompo Holdings to sell Aspen Insurance Holdings for about $3.5 billion, Colin Kellaher writes for The Journal. Apollo, which acquired Aspen for $2.6 billion in 2019 and took the insurer public again this past May, still owns more than 80% of it.

Freight forwarder Flexport is joining with BlackRock to double its supply-chain financing pool to $250 million as tariffs raise costs for U.S. retailers and manufacturers, Paul Berger reports. BlackRock is providing the $250 million, which will be managed by Flexport. Stuart Leung, Flexport’s chief financial officer, said the money will allow the freight middleman’s financing arm, Flexport Capital, to provide funds for importers that face rising supply chain costs. “It fills an ever-increasing acute challenge for customers, especially today,” he said.

KKR clinched a deal for precision testing company Spectris following a bidding war with Advent International. KKR said it intends to appoint Andrew Williams as Spectris' chairman and Pat Murphy as vice chairman after the U.K. company's shareholders approved KKR's $5.58 billion takeover, Adam Whittaker reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Spectris had been  subject to a bidding war between KKR and fellow private-equity firm Advent International. Williams, the former Halma CEO, and Murphy, who previously headed Fortive's Advanced Healthcare Solutions business, joined KKR as executive advisers in 2024.  

Danish private-equity firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners joined forces with state owned oil-and-gas producer Vietnam National Industry-Energy Group, also known as Petrovietnam, to build an offshore wind project, one of the first of its kind in the country.

Technology-focused firm Vector Capital Management is buying Showpad, an artificial intelligence-powered revenue enabling technology provider with headquarters in Chicago and Ghent, Belgium. Vector plans to combine Showpad with Bigtincan Holdings, which the firm acquired in April.

Alternative investment firm Canyon Partners is serving as lead lender for Advent International’s roughly $400 million corporate carve-out of the aerospace and defense business of publicly traded Coherent Corp.

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

Morgan Stanley Capital Partners has closed the sale of Clarity Software Solutions to PSG Equity-backed software provider mPulse. Morgan Stanley initially invested in Clarity, which offers software for health insurance providers, third-party administrators and dental insurers, in 2019.

Midmarket firm Mill Point Capital has completed a sale-leaseback transaction for foodservice and refrigeration equipment manufacturer AeriTek Global Holdings. Mill Point plans to use the proceeds from the sale leaseback of certain manufacturing facilities in Mexico to fund distributions to shareholders.

Insight Partners has sold a portion of its stake in The Real Brokerage, a publicly traded real estate technology company. The firm sold about 7.8 million shares for about $38 million.

Franklin Park Associates has raised at least $241 million so far for venture capital fund of funds Franklin Park Venture Capital XV, according to a regulatory filing. The amount raised so far puts the fund of funds very close to a $250 million goal indicated in the filing. Investors that have disclosed commitments to the fund of funds include the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.

Churchill Capital Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen, appointed Michael Foley as senior managing director. Foley will be responsible for leading the firm’s institutional fundraising strategy, strengthening existing and building new client relationships globally.

Arctos has appointed Thad Sheely as an operating partner. Sheely, the former chief operating officer and head of real estate for the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, will continue to advise the Washington Commanders on their new stadium search, Arctos said.

Keeps, a platform for minority equity stakes, income-sharing agreements and sale-and-leasebacks to “democratize ownership in sports assets,” is set to launch later this year with backing from a group of investors, including professional soccer legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, Justin Cash reports for sister publication Financial News. The blockchain-based marketplace has gained Financial Conduct Authority and Securities and Exchange Commission approval, according to documents circulated to potential backers seen by Financial News.

Investment firm HarbourVest Partners released its latest quarterly private-equity benchmark performance as well as its projection through the second quarter. Second-quarter performance for its global buyout business returned 6.1%, relative to 11.7% ( actual) for the MSCI ACWI total return benchmark.

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