Good day Pro Private Equity readers! The bears officially arrived yesterday as public markets fell again. The Dow Jones Industrial Index dropped by more than 876 points in one day or around 2.8% as investors fled riskier assets in the face of what are anticipated to be more aggressive than expected interest rate hikes. Private-equity is unlikely to remain unscathed as risk gets repriced, but some investors are betting that it will help mitigate some of the near term volatility in their portfolios. As Preeti Singh reports, California’s largest pension system, is banking on private markets to help it weather the storm, after approving an asset allocation last year that will lift its targets to both private equity and real assets. Meanwhile, Chris Cumming looks at an investment led by General Atlantic in EcoVadis, a company that helps measure and benchmark economic, social and governance or ESG metrics, while Maria Armental reports that Apollo Global Management’s plans to roll out insurance wrapped funds that will allow wealthy investors access to alternative investments.
Read on for more details…

Sustainability-ratings company EcoVadis SAS has received $500 million in an investment round led by General Atlantic and Astorg, as investors seek to capitalize on the push to quantify companies’ environmental and social impacts, Chris Cumming reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero, a venture that invests in companies involved in the shift to renewable energy, and Astorg, a Paris-based private-equity firm, led the Series C investment in the software-as-a-service provider. Singapore sovereign-wealth investor GIC Private Ltd. and technology investment firm Princeville Capital also participated.

California's largest pension system has lost nearly $50 billion of its total portfolio value since the beginning of the year, but its newly appointed chief investment officer is betting that a recently adopted strategic allocation that includes more private equity and real assets will help it weather the market storm, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Preeti Singh writes. California Public Employees’ Retirement System had nearly $500 billion in assets when it hired Nicole Musicco in February. However, market volatility has shaved off 10% of its market value, Ms. Musicco told the members of the investment committee at a meeting Monday.

Apollo Global Management Inc. plans to launch an insurance-wrapped alternative investment product through its Athene Holding Ltd. unit that ultimately seeks to let everyday investors back some of Apollo’s private funds, Maria Armental reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The investment product is being designed as a variable annuity with no guaranteed return on invested capital, said Grant Kvalheim, president of Athene, during an investor briefing Monday. With sales expected to begin later this year, Apollo aims to make it the first in a series of alternative investments that promise the tax-deferral benefits of an annuity and the potential returns of illiquid funds managed by Apollo. The first version of the wrap product will be for qualified investors with a $5 million threshold.

KKR & Co. has agreed to sell Cardenas Markets, a grocery chain serving Hispanic communities, to a portfolio company of Apollo Global Management, the firm said in a press release. Apollo plans to combine Cardenas with Chicago-based grocery chain Tony’s Fresh Market and the combined company will operate nearly 80 stories with $1.8 billion in total combined revenue, the release stated. KKR initially acquired Cardenas back in 2016 from its family founders.

Genstar Capital is investing in AmeriLife Group LLC, joining existing investor Thomas H. Lee Partners as an equal partner in the Clearwater, Fla.-based company, according to a news release. The deal, which gives Genstar a roughly 50% stake in the provider of health insurance, annuities and retirement planning products, values the company at around $3 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. THL initially backed AmeriLife in early 2020, acquiring its stake from fellow private-equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co., according to a news release issued at the time.

JMI Equity led a $75 million investment in Performio, a sales performance-management software company founded in Australia and now based in Irvine, Calif, according to an emailed press release. JMI Equity's Paul Barber and Jack Duane are joining the board of the company, whose legal name is PerformanceCentre Inc., according to California state records.

Publicly traded Foresight Group Holdings Ltd. has acquired the technology ventures division of investment manager Downing LLP in London, including the management of related funds, according to a regulatory filing in London. Foresight paid £13.6 million, equivalent to about $16.5 million up front and will pay an additional £4.2 million over three years, subject to performance hurdles. The funds involved total about £275 million from roughly 12,000 investors. The transaction increased the buyer’s venture assets under management to about  £542 million and lifted its total assets under management to around £1.2 billion.

PSG Equity in Boston led a $161 million investment in sports video and analytics company Pixellot Ltd., joined by existing backers including Israel Secondary Fund, according to a news release. The Israel-based company’s automated video production and analytics products use artificial intelligence technology to capture, produce and distribute sports coverage, according to the release. 

Bain Capital’s credit unit and J.C. Flowers & Co. have agreed to invest $100 million for a minority stake in Miami-based wealth management business Insigneo Financial Group, according to a press release. Insigneo currently supports more than 350 investment professionals and services close to $13 billion in assets, the release stated.

Earlybird Venture Capital and Andera Partners led a €96 million investment, equivalent to about $101 million, in biotechnology company ImCheck Therapeutics SAS, according to a news release. The Marseille, France-based company is developing drugs to treat certain forms of cancer. Other investors in the Series C round included Kurma Partners, Eurazeo, Gimv, Pfizer Ventures, Bpifrance, Wellington Partners, Pureos Bioventures, Agent Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Accel-KKR is leading a $47 million investment in software developer Submittable Holdings Inc., joined by existing backers of the company, including StepStone Group Inc. and several venture funds, according to a news release. Missoula, Mont.-based Submittable’s applications are used to help start and manage social impact programs, apply for grants and related tasks.

Real estate investment firm Rockpoint Group in Boston plans to invest $300 million in a joint venture with Walton Global Holdings to construct rental homes on land controlled by Walton, which has more than 81,000 acres in areas across much of the U.S., according to a news release. With the partnership investment, Walton expects its Build-to-Rent business will total as much as $1 billion in assets.

Shore Capital in Chicago is backing the growth of food processing company Moesle Meat Distribution Co. with an eye toward creating a regional food distribution business, according to a news release. Chicago-based Moesle handles beef, pork, poultry and seafood deliveries to grocers, food services businesses and other distributors and includes a Kansas City unit serving Kansas and Missouri.

Genstar Capital is recapitalizing Lightyear Capital-backed wealth manager Cerity Partners LLC, according to a news release. The New York-based company has been backed by Lightyear since 2017 and the firm remains an investor.

Bow River Capital in Denver is backing employee-engagement company One10 LLC with an unspecified growth investment, according to a news release. Minneapolis-based One10 uses proprietary technology to develop e employee incentives and reward programs.

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 firm Israel Secondary Fund has collected $312 million for its third investment vehicle, more than triple the value of commitments to a predecessor that closed on $100 million in 2017, according to  a news release. Rising uncertainty in technology industries, delays in initial public offerings and of acquisitions is expected to boost demand for liquidity in the form of secondary transactions, according to firm founder and Managing Partner Dror Glass.

A pair of New York state-focused investment funds managed by Hamilton Lane Inc. are in line to split $350 million in fresh investment capital under a commitment from the ​​$279.7 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, according to a news release. The public pension system overseen by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Democrat, committed an additional $50 million to the Hudson River Co-investment Fund III, which it backed previously, and pledged $300 million to the new Hudson River Co-investment Fund IV. Both vehicles make $5 million to $20 million co-investments in New York-based companies backed by another fund sponsor.

Z Capital Group in New York has hired Tony Hu as a director with the firm’s corporate development group, according to a news release. Mr. Hu was previously a director at Canadian private investment firm Onex Corp.

One Rock Capital Partners has added Andrew Shackett as an operating partner focused on business and environmental services, according to a news release. He is a former president and chief executive of ACV Enviro Inc. and has held executive roles at environmental-remediation company Clean Harbors Inc.

RLJ Equity Partners in Bethesda, Md. has promoted Blake Weir to vice president in its investment operations. He joined the firm in 2019.

Clayton Dubilier & Rice has hired former manufacturing software executive Bill Berutti as an operating advisor, according to a news release. He is a former chief executive of Plex Systems Inc. in Michigan.

Consumer-focused JAB Holding Co. in Luxembourg, whose portfolio company National Veterinary Associates Inc. in California agreed to acquire SAGE Veterinary Partners LLC about a year ago, must divest six clinics in its home state and Texas as a condition of closing the $1.1 billion deal, under a Federal Trade Commission order. The operations are to be sold to United Veterinary Care LLC under a consent agreement with JAB. In addition, the FTC said JAB must seek prior approval from the agency for future deals to acquire specialty or emergency vet clinics in either state that are within 25 miles of locations already controlled by the firm. SAGE operates 16 clinics in Texas, California, Washington and Alaska. The FTC cited concerns about anti-competitive effects of NVA's SAGE deal in emergency animal-care services in San Francisco and the Oakland-Concord, Calif. areas as well as in Austin, Texas. JAB backed NVA through its JAB Consumer Partners strategy. Nordic Capital is acquiring a major stake in United Veterinary from Atlantic Street Capital, which has backed the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based company since 2019. United already has 109 clinics across much of the U.S., including in California and Texas.

Congress is pressing ahead with legislation that could rewrite the rules for American companies investing abroad, proposing the screening of investments in countries like China seen as adversaries to protect U.S. technologies and rebuild critical supply chains, Kate O'Keeffe and Natalie Andrews report for The Wall Street Journal. The measure, part of broader legislation to bolster U.S. competitiveness with China, would require American companies and investors to disclose certain new outbound investments and authorize the executive branch to form a new interagency panel to review and block investments on national security grounds, according to congressional aides and a revised draft of the bill.

Equitable Holdings Inc. has invested $15 million in SoLa Impact’s Black Impact Fund, whose strategy includes affordable housing development in California, according to a news release. Equitable made the commitment as part of its goal of making a social impact with its investments.

Go-Ahead Group PLC became the latest U.K. public transport operator to receive takeover approaches, saying it had received separate unsolicited conditional bid indications regarding possible cash offers for the company, and that it is evaluating these offers, Anthony O. Goriainoff reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The proposals from Kelsian Group Ltd. and a group consisting of Australia's Kinetic Holding Co. and Spain's Globalvia Inversiones SAU that could lead to recommended offers. Go-Ahead has a market cap of £600 million, equivalent to $738.9 million.

A push by U.S. life-sciences companies to diversify product offerings and bulk up research and development boosted deal activity in the sector last year, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Luis Garcia reports for Dow Jones Newswires, citing a study by law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC and M&A-research provider Mergermarket. Total deal value in the sector increased by 43% over the past two years to $301 billion, while the number of transactions rose 30% to 1,028.

Send us your tips, suggestions and feedback. Write to:

Maria Armental; Ted Bunker; Chris Cumming; Luis Garcia; Laura Kreutzer; Preeti Singh; Chitra Vemuri.

Follow us on Twitter:@wsjpe, @LHVGarcia, @LauraKreutzer