Welcome back. Today, I cover the announcement of a new partnership meant to construct a suite of multi-asset investment strategies. PGIM, the global investment business of Prudential Financial, and private-markets firm Partners Group will look to provide investor services.

In other news, Apollo Global Management is exploring a sale of early internet darling AOL after receiving inbound interest in the business, according to people familiar with the matter. Any deal could value AOL at around $1.5 billion.

Now onto the news...

PGIM, the global investment business of Prudential Financial, and private-markets firm Partners Group have entered a partnership to construct a suite of multi-asset investment strategies, the latest in a growing number of such tie-ups between private-markets firms and global asset managers. The new partnership combines PGIM’s experience across public and private asset classes, including credit and real estate, with Partners Group’s track record in private markets, particularly private equity and private infrastructure.

Apollo Global Management is exploring a sale of early internet darling AOL after receiving inbound interest in the business, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal could value the company at $1.5 billion, although it’s possible the talks won’t result in any deal, the people added.

The secondary market is on track for a record year in 2025 as an ongoing need for liquidity drove momentum for secondary transactions, particularly general partner-led deals. Secondary fundraising has also remained strong, thanks to a wave of new entrants focused on GP-led transactions. Read more in our special report.

Advent International-backed payments software provider Xplor Technologies has agreed to merge with Clubessential Holdings, another payment software company backed by Battery Ventures and Silver Lake. Advent will retain a majority stake in the combined company while Battery and Silver Lake will hold significant minority stakes. Battery initially acquired a majority stake in Clubessentials back in 2016 while Silver Lake joined as a minority investor in the company in 2021. Last year, Reuters News reported that the two firms were exploring a nearly $3 billion sale for Clubessential, which provides payment software and services to organizations that include private clubs, public golf courses, health and fitness clubs, military organizations, municipalities and camp organizations.

KKR has acquired Japanese insurance distributor Hoken Minaoshi Hompo Group from Japanese private-equity firm Advantage Partners. Hoken Minaoshi Hompo offers in-store services at roughly 350 retail locations around Japan.

Lower midmarket firms SageLink Capital and Genesis Park are backing Perfect Feast, a corporate gifting company that specializes in food-based rewards. As part of the deal, Blaine Farr is joining Perfect Feast as chief executive.

Ara Partners, a private-equity firm that invests in businesses aimed at reducing carbon emissions and carbon footprints in the industrial economy, has taken a majority stake in industrial waste processing technology company Microtec Development & Holdings. Microtec offers technology that includes AggrePlex, which helps turn waste glass into a ground glass material used in concrete.

Private-equity firms Centre Partners and Baldwin Creek Partners have backed the formation of TruTemp Holdings, a platform focused on buying providers of plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning services across the Southeastern U.S. The newly formed platform has also acquired Maynor Service Co., a Raleigh, N.C.-based residential services provider.

Spectrum Equity Management has made a growth investment in Poppins Payroll, which provides technology to help households manage payroll for housekeepers, caregivers and other domestic workers.

Percheron Capital has formed Solidaire HVAC & Energy Solutions, an Atlanta-based company that will acquire commercial HVAC services businesses. As part of its formation, Solidaire has also backed its first deal with the acquisition of Enervise, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based commercial HVAC services company.

GrowthCurve Capital is acquiring PlanHub from investors that include fellow private-equity firm Mainsail Partners. PlanHub offers software that helps commercial construction clients manage the bidding and project-management process. Mainsail invested $41 million in PlanHub back in 2020. 

Sheridan Capital Partners has completed its investment in National Care Systems, which provides revenue-cycle-management software to assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities.

Morgan Stanley’s private-credit strategy has backed an incremental senior debt financing for Fetch, which increases the mobile rewards company’s senior debt financing to $110 million. Morgan Stanley initially provided debt financing to Fetch in 2024.

Franchise Equity Partners said it has acquired a majority stake in 7 Crew, a franchise owner of 7 Brew Drive-Thru Coffee drive-thru beverage stands. 7 Crew plans to open more than 200 new stands in addition to the 50 currently operating.

ParkerGale has backed a growth investment in RedZone Technologies, a cybersecurity services company for highly regulated industries. As part of the deal, Gary Simat, founder and former chief executive of IT services company Performive, will join RedZone as CEO.

Private investment firms Innova Capital Partners and Bambu Ventures are forming a special-purpose vehicle to acquire telehealth provider Lemonaid Health and its online pharmacy Lemonaid Pharmacy pending approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Missouri. The company was part of bankrupt genetics testing business 23andMe, which acquired Lemonaid Health in 2021.

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

Sverica Capital Management has sold RMS Healthcare Management, an operator of urgent care clinics that does business as MedFirst. Sverica initially acquired MedFirst in 2016 out of Sverica Fund IV, which closed that same year with $275 million.

MGX, an ambitious AI investment company based in Abu Dhabi, is seeking $50 billion for a debut fund but has set a minimum commitment from limited partners at $500 million, Sebastian McCarthy writes for sister publication Private Equity News. MGX is targeting mega-deals in the artificial-intelligence industry and late last year it formed a partnership with BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Microsoft.

LCM Partners, a London-based credit investor partly owned by Brookfield Asset Management, has amassed €3.8 billion, or around $4.5 billion, in a first close of its fifth credit opportunities strategy, including a commingled fund and single investor separate accounts for the strategy. The initial closing puts the Credit Opportunities 5 strategy more than halfway toward its €6 billion goal.

Centerbridge Partners has added Tim van Beisen as a senior managing director focused on healthcare and life sciences, according to his LinkedIn account. Van Beisen previously spent more than two decades with Bain & Co.

Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe has added Gene Lockhart as an operating partner to focus on the technology and healthcare industries. Lockhart previously served as chief executive and president of Mastercard and was also president of the global retail bank at Bank of America.

Godspeed Capital Management has added Dean Demetri as vice president of business development for the firm, according to an announcement on LinkedIn. Demetri most recently worked as an independent consultant focused on the national security community but earlier in his career also worked as an associate at Baird, according to Godspeed’s website.

Family-backed investment firm the Stephens Group has added Frank Kumpuris as an executive-in-residence at the firm. Kumpuris most recently served as chief operating officer for Insurance Platforms Global Operations and head of the Policygenius digital marketplace business at insurance technology company Zinnia.

Major American tech companies said they would spend more than $40 billion to expand artificial-intelligence infrastructure in the U.K., a boost for the island nation as it prepares to welcome President Trump for a state visit, the Journal reports. Microsoft said Tuesday that it would pour $30 billion into AI infrastructure and existing operations in the U.K. through 2028, its largest financial commitment in the country. Microsoft’s pledge comes hours after Alphabet-unit Google said it would spend about $6.8 billion in AI, research and development and related engineering in the U.K. over the next two years. Meanwhile, Nvidia, OpenAI and British company Nscale are joining forces to set up AI infrastructure to satisfy OpenAI’s power needs in the U.K.

Franklin Templeton is partnering with infrastructure investment firms Actis, which is owned by General Atlantic, as well as Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and DigitalBridge to offer infrastructure investment products to individual investors.

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