Good morning. We start the week with stories on three topics that certainly have been on the minds of private-market investors: fundraising, private credit and the war in the Middle East.

Midmarket firm Truelink Capital raised $2 billion for its second, oversubscribed fund, my colleague Maria Armental reports.

Meanwhile, the Middle East war may test the resolve of the richest countries in the Persian Gulf to make good on pledges to invest trillions of dollars in the U.S., the Journal reports.

Finally, BlackRock’s HPS has become the latest private-credit manager to face a high number of redemption requests by investors concerned about the health of the direct-lending market, the Journal’s Jack Pitcher writes.

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Midmarket private-equity firm Truelink Capital wrapped up fundraising in roughly three months for its second main fund, reaching its $2 billion hard cap and limiting some investor participation, WSJ Pro's Maria Armental reports, citing firm founders Todd Golditch and Luke Myers. Truelink held a first and final close simultaneously for Truelink Capital II with $2 billion in hand. The firm initially targeted $1.5 billion for the vehicle but saw strong investor interest that left the fund significantly oversubscribed, Golditch and Myers said. The Platinum Equity veterans established Truelink in 2022 and closed the firm’s debut fund in 2024 with roughly $950 million to invest in the tech-enabled services and industrial sectors.

As Iran retaliates to U.S. and Israeli attacks by raining missiles and drones on its Arab neighbors, the prospect of sustained turmoil in the energy-rich states stands to upset an increasingly profound economic relationship, The Wall Street Journal reports. Before the war broke out, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had been behind a surge of U.S. investment, publicly embracing President Trump more than any U.S. leader in recent history through their deep pockets. The three countries’ massive pledges—over $3 trillion between them—were used by Trump to demonstrate a flood of investment coming to the U.S.

BlackRock's HPS Corporate Lending Fund became the latest private-credit vehicle to see a surge in redemption requests recently, with investors seeking to withdraw in excess of 9% of shares, nearly double the 5% maximum allowed. The unlisted business development company, or BDC, also known as Hlend, won't pay out more than about $620 million in first-quarter redemptions, sticking to the 5% limit, after receiving requests totaling 9.3%, according to a regulatory filing. In a shareholder letter contained in the filing, BlackRock cited the BDC's rules and the need to protect all investors, including those who aren't seeking withdrawals, Jack Pitcher reports for the Journal. BlackRock shares fell about 7.2% Friday.

WSJ Pro is pleased to announce its 10th class of Women to Watch honorees. This year, for the first time, we have built a dedicated webpage to showcase both current and past honorees. This year’s class spans a range of strategies and backgrounds across four main categories: senior dealmakers, rising star dealmakers, fundraising and LP executives, and private-credit professionals. However, they all share the same pursuit of excellence that has earned them this honor. You can learn more about this year’s class here.

Lone Star Funds has agreed to acquire the capsules and health ingredients business of Switzerland-based Lonza Group at an enterprise value of 2.3 billion Swiss francs, or nearly $3 billion, Joshua Kirby reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Lonza will receive upfront proceeds of 1.7 billion francs and retain a 40% stake in the unit with an additional preferential participation in a future exit from the remaining stake, subject to Lone Star netting a return equal to its initial investment.

Existing investors including Bain Capital, RA Capital Management and Janus Henderson participated in a $240 million private placement in shares of Solid Biosciences, with the company selling about 15 million shares priced at $5.61 each, plus warrants, Elias Schisgall reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Other buyers included Perceptive Advisors. The fresh capital is expected to fund the Boston company's pipeline of genetic medicines. The Nasdaq-listed company's shares jumped more than 20% Friday.

Growth-equity firm Serent Capital is backing Saisystems Health, which provides revenue-cycle-management and electronic-health-record-management technology for skilled nursing facilities.

Carlyle Group is buying Japanese scaffold leasing company Sugiko from Orix Corp. The company operates across Japan, renting scaffolding and providing related services to commercial plants and construction outfits. Orix first backed the business in 2020 and expects to record a gain of about $395 million from the exit deal.

Allianz X, an investment unit of Allianz Group, has led a $195 million investment in Latin American neobank Ualá in a transaction that values the bank at $3.2 billion. Other investors in the deal include Stone Ridge Holdings Group, Tencent, Soros Fund Management and D1 Capital Partners.

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

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's Liberty 77 Capital in Washington is selling its remaining stake of about 1.8 million shares of video streaming services and cable-TV channel operator Starz Entertainment to comedian and broadcast entrepreneur Byron Allen for $25 million, or $13.86 a share. The sale, representing a nearly 11% stake in the Nasdaq-listed company, provided a full exit for Liberty's funds. The firm's Liberty 77 Fund International, which raised at least $2.33 billion, acquired nearly 2.5 million shares through open-market purchases in August 2023 for prices ranging from about $7.10 to $7.49 each, a separate filing shows.

RedBird IMI has agreed to sell Telegraph Media Group in the U.K. to strategic buyer Axel Springer for £575 million, or $768.1 million, the Journal reports. The German publisher of Bild, Politico and Business Insider outbid British rival the Daily Mail and General Trust. RedBird IMI, a joint venture between U.S. buyout firm RedBird Capital Partners and IMI in the United Arab Emirates, has been the caretaker owners of the Daily Telegraph newspaper publisher since 2024.

Star Capital-backed aerospace manufacturer Vincorion plans an initial public offering in Frankfurt as it seeks to cash in on higher European defense budgets, the Journal reports. The German company makes hybrid energy systems, microgrids, emergency power generators and stabilization systems for military platforms including tanks, as well as air defense systems such as U.S.-made Patriot missiles. Star has backed the business since 2022.

Mutares in Munich is selling the subsidiaries of commercial and industrial logistics services company InTime Group to Tawin Holdings Group. The buyout firm acquired InTime last year and restructured its operations. Today, it has around 400 employees and generates revenue of about €100 million, or about $116.1 million.

Gallatin Point Capital, a private investment firm focused on structured investments in financial institutions, services and related assets, has raised at least $1.12 billion so far for Gallatin Point Capital Partners III and related parallel vehicles, according to a regulatory filing. The amount indicated in the filing puts the new fund close to the $1.6 billion that the firm raised for its predecessor back in 2023.

Real-assets investment firm Galvanize has raised $370 million for Galvanize Real Estate Fund I. The fund invests in commercial buildings across undercapitalized U.S. markets with a goal of implementing decarbonization and energy interventions, including a combination of on-site renewable energy generation, energy efficiency retrofits and electrification.

British finance company Market Financial Solutions in recent years found plenty of banks and private-credit firms eager to lend it money despite sparse details in fundraising materials and financial information that diverged widely from its public financial reporting, the Journal reports. Lenders including Apollo Global Management’s Atlas SP Partners business development company, Barclays, Castlelake, Jefferies Financial Group and Banco Santander backed the company over the years. The company said its mortgage lending business had tripled in size since 2022 to more than $3 billion last year. Now, MFS is collapsing and facing accusations that it pledged collateral more than once.

Investment services provider Robinhood Markets took its new private-venture vehicle public Friday, the company's first fund offering private-market access to individual investors, Hannah Erin Lang reports for the Journal. The initial public offering priced at $25 a share, raising about $658.4 million. The closed-end investment vehicle, Robinhood Ventures Fund I, aims to make minority investments in 10 or more privately held companies. The goal, Robinhood executives say, is democratizing private-market access. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based fund had $152 million in investment assets, based on estimated fair value as of Nov. 30, according to a regulatory filing. Robinhood Ventures shares fell 16% in their trading debut Friday to close at $21.

A blank-check company backed by specialty private-equity firm Patriot Financial Partners in Radnor, Pa., filed for a $200 million initial public offering, saying it aims to invest in technology-enabled lending operations, Josh Beckerman reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Patriot Acquisition Corp. is particularly interested in businesses that generate loan volume digitally for commercial customers and consumers. The private-equity sponsor with assets of about $1.09 billion at the end of 2024 typically invests in community banks, specialty lenders and financial services and technology companies.

Bridgepoint Group in London has established a dedicated secondaries team with the acquisition of Newbury Partners, which brought with it management of the most recent among six previously raised investment funds. The midmarket-focused secondaries specialist brought assets of about $4.3 billion to Bridgepoint, which set up the new operation as Newbury Bridgepoint.

Saba Capital Management and Cox Capital Partners, which earlier made offers for Blue Owl Capital BDC shares, now want to buy roughly 5% of Starwood Real Estate Income Trust Class S and Class I shares at discounts of nearly 29% and about 24%, respectively, WSJ Pro's Isaac Taylor reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The listed REIT faces roughly $1 billion in redemption requests, Saba and Cox say.

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