Good day and welcome to the Pro Private Equity newsletter. Today, Preeti Singh has a report on the conundrum facing the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, which last year voted to reduce its investment target for private equity. The roughly $70 billion pension system, currently above its target allocation to private equity, is sharply pulling back its new commitments to buyout funds. But the pension fund’s director of private equity, Darren Foreman, warned that passing on new funds could make it harder to get access to investments in the future.

Next, Luis Garcia brings news in the suddenly hot market for investing in raw materials. Tembo Capital Management, a London-based mining investor, has wrapped up its latest vehicle at $380 million, well ahead of the target. Finally, our WSJ Pro Bankruptcy colleague Becky Yerak has news of a bankruptcy filing by Prospect Partners-backed Vista College, which operates a chain of for-profit business schools.

Now on to today's news...

Private equity remains a top performer for Pennsylvania’s largest public pension, but a decision last year to reduce allocations to the asset class has sparked concern that valuable manager relationships may be lost in the process, Preeti Singh reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. Last year, the overseers of the $69.57 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System approved a plan to reduce the target proportion of pension assets invested in private equity to 12% from 15%, to increase liquidity and improve its chances of meeting or surpassing a 7.2% annual return goal.

Tembo Capital Management has raised $380 million to make new bets in the mining sector, which the private-equity firm expects to benefit from rising demand for metals used in clean-energy equipment such as solar panels and electric-car batteries, Luis Garcia writes for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The mining-focused investor, based in London, wrapped up Tembo Capital Mining Fund III LP above a $300 million target, said David Street, Tembo’s chief executive. The total is more than twice the $175 million the firm secured for a predecessor fund in 2017.

Vista College, a private-equity-backed chain of for-profit business schools with campuses in three states, has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy after shutting down operations, Becky Yerak writes for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. The Richardson, Texas-based business is owned by Prospect Partners, a private-equity firm in Chicago that has acquired for-profit schools for years and put them under the Vista banner.

Warburg Pincus is investing $170 million in animal health provider Bond Veterinary. The investment is expected to fuel growth for the technology-enabled services provider based in New York and founded in 2019. Doing business as Bond Vet, the company has several locations in the New York metro area and has treated more than 40,000 pets so far.

The reinsurance affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has closed its deal to reinsure up to $10 billion of annuity products issued by the American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co. unit of American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. Brookfield Reinsurance has reinsured $4 billion of in-force policies and will reinsure up to another $6 billion of IncomeShield or other liabilities of the company. The company has also agreed to roughly double its equity stake in the publicly traded issuer to 19.9% through purchases of common stock. Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partners Ltd. spun out of Brookfield in June but remains an affiliate.

SoftBank Group Corp. is leading a $200 million investment in French corporate benefits services provider Swile, in a deal that values the provider of digital vouchers at more than $1 billion, Reuters reported. Eurazeo SE invested in the company in March.

Evolution Equity Partners led a $60 million investment in cryptocurrency risk-management company Elliptic Enterprises Ltd., joined by SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2, David Carnevali reports for WSJ Pro Venture Capital. London-based Elliptic helps businesses and government agencies analyze cryptocurrency blockchains to ensure security, prevent financial crimes and track down misappropriated digital currency. Also participating in the Series C round were existing investors, including Digital Currency Group, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and AlbionVC.

Wellspring Capital Management is acquiring pharmaceutical company Pentec Health Inc., which provides renal therapies and therapeutic nutritional products used in treating chronic renal failure and by patients with intrathecal pumps, according to an emailed news release. Norwest Equity Partners has backed the Glen Mills, Pa.-based company since June 2012, according to the Minneapolis firm’s website.

Alchemy Partners is investing $90 million in insurance underwriter and reinsurer Apollo Group Holdings Ltd., according to an emailed news release. The U.K. company runs a syndicate on the Lloyd’s of London insurance market. Alchemy, a U.K. firm that specializes in undervalued and distressed companies, is backing Apollo Group through its Alchemy Special Opportunities Fund IV LP.

Zouk Capital, which invests the U.K. government’s Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, is committing £30 million, or about $40.9 million, to electric-vehicle charging infrastructure company Zest. The company plans to build charging stations in places where people commonly park their vehicles for a half hour or longer, such as at shopping centers, schools and office buildings.

Xizhi Capital, a private-equity firm in China, is backing luxury fashion company Fosun Fashion Group, which is rebranding as Lanvin Group. The firm is investing alongside strategic investors Itochu Corp., a trading company in Japan, and footwear maker Stella International, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Fosun International Ltd. set up the China-focused fashion house in 2017.

A joint venture between industrial property investor Staley Point Capital and Bain Capital's real estate arm has acquired a Seattle warehouse for $31.6 million, or $351 per square foot, according to a news release. The 90,000 square-foot property is fully leased.

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

L Catterton is selling restaurant chain Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings to strategic buyer BurgerFi International Inc. for about $161.3 million, including debt, Michael Dabaie reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The cash-and-stock deal would make the private-equity firm the biggest investor in publicly traded BurgerFi. L Catterton initially backed Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Anthony’s in 2015 through its flagship buyout strategy. BurgerFi shares rose 5.8% Monday after the deal was announced.

Ardian’s infrastructure arm has agreed to buy Spanish broadband company Adamo Telecom Iberia SAU from EQT AB in Stockholm, Dominic Chopping reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The Swedish private-equity investor initially acquired a majority interest in the company in 2017. Barcelona-based Adamo focuses on connecting rural areas with fiber-to-the-home services and has about 250,000 subscribers.

Clinical-stage biotechnology company Aura Biosciences Inc., which is backed by fund managers including Matrix Capital Management and Advent Life Sciences, registered for an initial public offering of shares, without specifying how much it plans to raise or an anticipated price range. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company is focused on developing cancer therapies. Matrix owns about 10% of Aura's equity, while Advent owns about 8%, the registration filing shows.

Private-credit manager Antares Capital said David Brackett, a founding member of the firm when it formed in 1996, plans to retire at the end of the year and will be replaced as chief executive by co-founder Timothy Lyne, currently the firm’s chief operating officer. Mr. Brackett plans to remain with the firm in an advisory capacity, according to a news release. Antares, which manages or advises $42.9 billion, spun out of General Electric Co.’s GE Capital unit in 2015 with backing from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which the Chicago firm listed as its current majority owner in a March regulatory filing.

Pantheon Infrastructure PLC plans to list on London's main market and expects to raise £300 million, equivalent to about $408.5 million, through a placing, a subscription offering and an intermediaries offer on admission, Anthony O. Goriainoff reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The multistrategy investment firm said it will issue ordinary shares at 100 pence each and that subscription shares will be issued through its initial public offering. Pantheon said it will make equity and equity-related investments in private infrastructure assets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is zeroing in on the ties that China’s state banks and other financial stalwarts have developed with big private-sector players, expanding his push to curb capitalist forces in the economy. Lingling Wei writes for The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Xi is launching a sweeping round of inspections of financial institutions. According to people with knowledge of the plan, the inspections focus on whether state-owned banks, investment funds and financial regulators have become too chummy with private firms.

The extended climb in oil prices is leaving some other industrial commodities behind, a divergence that reflects bets that energy supply shortages will offset any slowdown in the global economy, Amrith Ramkumar reports for The Wall Street Journal. U.S. crude rose 1.5% to $80.52 a barrel on Monday, closing above $80 for the first time since late 2014 and more than doubling since last October.

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