Good day. Today we have a strong lineup of exclusives and breaking news, leading off with a fundraising scoop from our Laura Kreutzer, who writes about a new co-investment vehicle being raised by Cohesive Capital.

Then we have a report from the Journal’s Dave Michaels regarding the latest regulatory crackdown on electronic messaging and recordkeeping, citing disclosures by Apollo, KKR and Carlyle. A previous enforcement sweep netted $1.8 billion from targeted brokers. 

Finally, Becky Yerak and Dave Sebastian report for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy that Fast Radius, which is an Energy Capital Partners-backed SPAC brought public in February, has entered chapter 11. The company’s CEO said the SPAC deal yielded far less cash than expected. 

We have these and many more stories summarized and linked for you below, so please read on...

Cohesive Capital Partners, a private-equity firm founded by former Citigroup Inc. executive John Barber, has rounded up around $250 million so far for its fourth co-investment fund, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Laura Kreutzer reports, citing people with knowledge of the offering. The amount raised to date puts the fund, Cohesive Capital Partners IV LP, more than halfway toward the New York firm’s $450 million target, the people said. Cohesive itself is committing $27 million to the new fund, or around 6% of the targeted total, they added.

Wall Street’s private-equity giants are the latest companies to face regulatory investigations over dealmakers’ use of banned communication channels, Dave Michaels reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing regulatory filings. Apollo Global Management Inc., KKR & Co. and Carlyle Group Inc. disclosed Tuesday that they face investigations over whether their employees used messaging services such as WhatsApp to do business. They are the most prominent asset-management firms so far to reveal their exposure to a regulatory sweep that examines compliance with record-keeping rules. A previous sweep by the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in September led to $1.8 billion in payments to settle the matter from 11 major broker-dealers accused of failing to maintain and preserve all of their employees’ communications.

Fast Radius Inc., which went public in February by combining with a blank check company backed by Energy Capital Partners, has filed for bankruptcy, Becky Yerak and Dave Sebastian report for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. The deal to bring public the on-demand manufacturer of metal and plastic parts in Chicago valued the business at $1.4 billion, but the combination delivered far less working capital than expected. The deal with ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities Corp. produced just $106 million for the company instead of as much as $445 million, Lou Rassey, Fast Radius co-founder, chairman and chief executive, said in a sworn declaration. ECP Managing Partner Tyler Reeder served as the special purpose acquisition company’s founding CEO and ECP founder Doug Kimmelman served as a director of the blank-check company, according to a regulatory filing.

At the WSJ Risk & Compliance Forum on Nov. 16, Melanie Sponholz, chief compliance officer with Waud Capital Partners Healthcare, will be discussing regulatory scrutiny of private equity. To join the conversation, register here with the code WSJPRO.

Treïs Group, Temasek Holdings and Aliment Capital led a €60 million investment, equivalent to about $60 million, in farm-focused e-commerce company Agriconomie in France, joined by Eurazeo SE, according to a news release. The deal is expected to fuel the company’s European expansion beyond France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium. Agriconomie currently connects with 350,000 farmers and 120,000 customers monthly.

Singapore sovereign investor GIC and publicly traded Dream Industrial REIT in Toronto said they have agreed to acquire Summit Industrial Income REIT for 5.9 billion Canadian dollars, equivalent to about $4.37 billion, including assumed debt. GIC owns 90% of a partnership it formed with Dream to acquire the Markham, Ontario-based owner of industrial properties in Canada.

Northleaf Capital Partners has acquired a controlling interest in rural internet and media services company Mercury Broadband LLC and plans to invest as much as $230 million in the business over the next few years, according to a news release. The Kansas City, Mo.-based company is developing cable and wireless systems across its home state and in Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.

NovaQuest Capital Management is acquiring a 22.5% interest in future royalties from certain sales of anemia drug roxadustat, sold under the Evrenzo brand name in some international regions by FibroGen Inc. in exchange for $50 million in upfront cash, according to a news release. Once NovaQuest reaches certain payment milestones, the agreement with FibroGen expires.

Deserve Inc., a credit card and payments technology company backed by the Mission Holdings family office of entrepreneur Saurabh Mittal, has fielded expressions of interest from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as the New York bank seeks ways to build out its credit-card capabilities, AnnaMaria Andriotis reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Mission is a Deserve investor and Mr. Mittal is a director, according to the family office’s website. Goldman Sachs is also a Deserve investor.

H.I.G. Capital in Miami is backing ThoughtFocus Inc., leading a growth investment in the provider of technology consulting services and systems, according to a news release. The deal provided an exit for Blackstone Inc.’s innovations investments strategy.

Angeles Equity Partners has acquired contamination control and removal company Data Clean LLC and plans to partner with former owners Richard Hill and Dean Sirakides in operating the Des Plaines, Ill.-based company, according to an emailed news release. Data Clean focuses on providing services to data centers, telecommunications facilities, and biopharmaceutical and life sciences cleanrooms.

Apogem Capital led a $140 million credit deal for registered investment adviser Steward Partners Global Advisory LLC, joined by Manulife Financial Corp.’s investment management arm and Cynosure Investment Partners, according to a news release. The credit facility was set up to help the firm expand.

Hyperion Capital Partners in Los Angeles said it has acquired arboreal services company A Plus Tree Inc. The Vallejo, Calif. Company operates across the West Coast and in Utah.

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

Madison Dearborn Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners are selling a controlling stake in contract researcher Alcami Corp. to GHO Capital Partners, also known as Global Healthcare Opportunities, and Vistria Group, according to a news release.

Svoboda Capital Partners has sold life science consulting firm Clarion Healthcare LLC to Arsenal Capital Partners-backed Lumanity Inc. in London, which also operates a consulting business focused on medical advances, according to a news release. Svoboda first backed Boston-based Clarion in October 2020, according to its website.

Cotton Creek Capital in Austin, Texas said it has sold liquid bulk freight company Coal City Cob Co. to strategic buyer Heniff Transportation Holdings LLC. Cotton Creek first invested in the Waxahachie, Texas-based company in November 2014.

Data infrastructure-focused DigitalBridge Group Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla. said it has collected $450 million for its DigitalBridge Zeus Partners V LP private-equity fund, after receiving its first commitment for the vehicle on Sept. 30, a regulatory filing shows.

Macquarie Group Ltd.’s Macquarie Capital unit has named Greg Ager as a managing director in its software and services group, focusing on raising investment funds targeting supply chain management, manufacturing and enterprise resource planning software companies. The former Signal Hill partner most recently worked at DC Advisory as a managing director.

Credit specialist Pretium Partners said it has hired Andrea Gift Allan as a managing director, real estate, to take charge of the firm’s drive to provide greater access to affordable single-family rental homes. Ms. Allan previously worked for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s urban investment group as a managing director and chief operating officer.

Mother and son Betsy Cohen and Daniel Cohen are combining their businesses into an investment firm called Cohen Circle, the new name for their FinTech Masala company, according to a news release. The collected businesses include venture investments and blank check operations.

Carlyle Group Inc. has agreed to pay ex-Chief Executive Kewsong Lee more than $3.3 million in severance, a regulatory filing shows. The firm said in August that Mr. Lee would step down as CEO immediately and leave Carlyle at the end of the year. Mr. Lee also retains stock grants and carried interest earned on various Carlyle investments, the filing shows. A search for a permanent successor continues, according to co-founder and Interim CEO William Conway. Reuters first reported the severance agreement.

Masayoshi Son, the billionaire boss of SoftBank Group Corp., has long presided over a quarterly earnings ritual of zany slide presentations. One included a goose laying multibillion-dollar golden eggs and another flock of unicorns flying upward along a chart of growth in artificial intelligence. No longer, as Eliot Brown reports for The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Son is planning to step back from the routine when the giant technology investor delivers its earnings Friday, instead greeting attendees with short remarks before handing the baton to his chief financial officer, according to a SoftBank agenda for the event.

The Supreme Court is considering challenges to the independent enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, The Wall Street Journal reports. The FTC case was filed by Axon Enterprise Inc., the maker of Tasers and other police equipment, while the SEC case was brought by an accountant accused of professional misconduct. Together, the challenges comprise the latest attack on the federal enforcement agencies’ in-house courts. Agencies such as the FTC and the SEC use administrative courts in which judges, who are employees of the agency, rule on the legality of mergers or decide punishments for alleged violations of consumer or securities laws.

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