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Mercer Banks $3.9 Billion | BlackRock-Temasek Venture Raises $1.4 Billion | Inside Project Primus
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Good Day! Today, we have an exclusive look from our Rod James at a new fund raised by Marsh McLennan’s Mercer unit, which collected about $3.9 billion to invest across private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate and sustainability-driven businesses.
Also on the fundraising trail, our Luis Garcia reports that the Decarbonization Partners joint venture formed by BlackRock and Temasek has closed its first fund with about $1.4 billion.
Finally, our Maria Armental provides a look into Project Primus, which helps the rising generations of ultra-wealthy families learn how to manage direct investing.
We have these and dozens of other news items on deals, exits, fundraisings and more collected and summarized with links for you below, so please jump in...
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Mercer is a unit of Marsh McLennan. PHOTO: JHVEPHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK
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Consultant and asset manager Mercer has wrapped up fundraising for its seventh vehicle designed to give less well-resourced investors access to a range of private markets, Rod James reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The New York-based unit of insurance giant Marsh McLennan raised $3.9 billion for Mercer Private Investment Partners VII, which it plans to invest across private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate and sustainability-driven investments. Fund VII has a mandate to make commitments to other investment vehicles, acquire positions on the secondary market and invest directly in businesses alongside other private investment managers.
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A joint venture of giant asset manager BlackRock and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has amassed $1.4 billion to back young businesses whose products and services help reduce carbon emissions, Luis Garcia reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The New York-based firm and Temasek said the venture wrapped up Decarbonization Partners Fund I above an initial $1 billion goal. The fund is the first vehicle raised by the venture, Decarbonization Partners, to make growth investments in developers of viable clean-energy technologies that are poised to expand.
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Training company Project Primus is offering a form of investing boot camp to help prepare members of the next generation of ultra wealthy families, Maria Armental reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The company requires participants to commit to investing $1 million in startups to help them learn the ropes of direct investing.
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$3.5 Trillion
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The projected size of the global private credit market by 2028, according to UBS analysts citing Preqin data.
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Tropical Smoothie Cafe has over 1,400 locations in 44 states. PHOTO: JIMIN KIM / ZUMA PRESS
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Blackstone is buying restaurant franchiser Tropical Smoothie Cafe for nearly $2 billion from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, Miriam Gottfried reports for the Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The Atlanta-based company has more than 1,400 locations in 44 states selling smoothies and other food items such as acai and yogurt bowls.
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Apollo Global Management-backed Concord Chorus has countered bidding rival Blackstone’s offer, equivalent to $1.24 per share, to acquire London-listed music rights investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund with an increased proposal to pay the equivalent of $1.25 per share, a securities filing in London indicates. Nashville, Tenn.-based Concord also said its latest bid doesn’t include any contingency payments. The new offer of £1.01 per share values the owner of catalogs created by musical artists such as Neil Young, Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers, at about $1.51 billion. Hipgnosis shares ended at 101.4 pence in
London Wednesday, rising above the latest bid.
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Foresite Capital co-led a more than $1 billion investment in biotechnology startup Xaira Therapeutics, joined by co-lead investor Arch Venture Partners and other backers such as Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Byers Capital, according to a news release. The newly formed company aims to use artificial intelligence and machine learning technology in its drug discovery research and development operations, starting with protein and antibody design.
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Blue Owl Capital in New York led a $400 million financing for broker PCF Insurance Services to provide capacity for further expansion through acquisitions. Blue Owl led another $400 million in financing for the business last July and owns a minority stake in the Lehi, Utah-based company.
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The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Springfield, Mass., said it is investing in Apollo Global Management-controlled credit provider Atlas SP Partners, acquiring a minority stake in the business. MassMutual described the transaction as a “multi-billion-dollar commitment” and said it has also agreed to invest separately in the New York firm’s asset-backed finance business. Apollo acquired Atlas SP from the former Credit Suisse before the Swiss bank was acquired by rival
UBS last year.
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Fund manager K1 Investment Management said it is offering to take private database management software developer MariaDB for 55 cents a share in cash, valuing the Redwood City, Calif.-based company’s equity at about $37.3 million. The offer represents a roughly 11% premium to Tuesday’s closing price in New York and spurred a 9.1% gain in the shares Wednesday.
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Firms including Innovation Endeavors, Meritech Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners backed software coding toolmaker Augment Computing with a $227 million growth investment, according to the company. The deal values Augment at $977 million. The startup based in Palo Alto, Calif., develops coding assistance programs driven by artificial intelligence to help software developers design new applications.
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Matrix Capital Management’s AyurMaya affiliate led a $132.5 million growth investment in clinical-stage biotechnology company Endeavor BioMedicines, joined by new investors including Velosity Capital and Woodline Partners as well as many existing backers, according to Endeavor. The Series C investment in the San Diego company includes the conversion of a $5 million convertible instrument.
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Midmarket-focused Industrial Opportunity Partners is buying the architectural segment of doormaker Masonite International in a transaction valued at about $75 million, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The unit generated revenue last year of about $323 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of June.
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Altimeter Capital led a $66 million growth investment in customer service automation company Parloa, joined by existing backer EQT AB’s venture arm as well as several other firms, according to Parloa. The Berlin-based company uses artificial intelligence technology to develop programs that manage call centers and other operations.
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Emerging markets-focused TVM Capital Healthcare said it is investing in mental health services provider Neurocare Group in Munich with a €16 million commitment. The fresh cash is expected to help the Munich-based company expand operations in Saudi Arabia.
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Lower midmarket firm Granite Creek Capital Partners in Chicago said it is backing research and public-interest messaging services provider District Communications Group in partnership with fellow private-equity firm Boathouse Capital. Granite Creek is investing in the Washington, D.C., company from its FlexCap III Fund, which is licensed as a small business investment company, or SBIC.
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Spire Capital and Strattam Capital jointly invested in healthcare security compliance software maker Green Security in Clearwater, Fla., acquiring a majority interest in the business through their growth investment, according to a news release. The founder-led company’s software is used to maintain access control to hospitals and other care facilities.
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Our add-on deal interactive tool allows you to sort and analyze volumes of add-on deal data compiled by WSJ Pro. View more.
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HD Hyundai Marine Solution, affiliated with South Korean shipbuilding conglomerate HD Hyundai, has priced shares at 83,400 won apiece, at the top end of its marketed range. PHOTO: BRIDGET BENNETT / BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Buyout firm KKR & Co. in New York is selling more than 4.4 million shares in South Korean ship-repair company HD Hyundai Marine Solution, which expects to raise about 742.26 billion won, or roughly $540.3 million, by selling 8.9 million shares in South Korea’s biggest initial public offering in more than two years, Kwanwoo Jun reports for the Journal. The company priced its IPO at 83,400 won per share and said half of the issue would be sold by KKR, its second-largest shareholder with a 38% stake. KKR acquired its interest in 2021.
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Rubrik, a cybersecurity company backed by Greylock Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners, priced its initial public offering at $32 a share, above the expected range, according to multiple reports late Wednesday, including by CNBC, citing people familiar with the matter. Lightspeed held about 24% of the company’s class B shares and Greylock had about 12% before the IPO, a securities filing shows. The Palo Alto, Calif., company had put the expected IPO price range at $28 to $32 a share
and planned to trade on the New York Stock Exchange, the filing shows. IPO market watcher Renaissance Capital had said the company expected to have an equity value of about $6.1 billion following the issue.
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Lux Capital-backed three-dimensional imaging company Matterport is being acquired by strategic buyer CoStar Group in a $5.50 per share cash and stock deal that gives Matterport an enterprise value of about $1.6 billion. Lux held more than 26 million Matterport shares, or roughly 8.3% of its stock, at the start of this month, a regulatory filing shows. Lux first backed the developer of imaging systems used to present virtual tours of residences in 2013, according to the firm’s website.
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Infrastructure-focused Astatine Investment Partners said it has acquired U.K. waste-collection vehicle rental company NRG Riverside from Palatine Private Equity. Palatine first backed the business in 2020.
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Lightyear Capital in New York said it has raised a continuation fund to support a single portfolio company that the firm originally backed out of its fourth flagship vehicle. Neuberger Berman led the formation of the continuation fund, which will be used to recapitalize ampliFI Loyalty Solutions, a provider of customer rewards and engagement programs for financial institutions. Lightyear initially backed the company in 2018 out of Lightyear Fund IV.
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Newly formed JuneX Capital Partners said it has collected €100 million, equivalent to about $107 million, for its Founders Office evergreen fund. The firm started by Régis Micheli and Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet said it invests mostly in Europe, backing founder-led businesses.
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Blackstone in New York said it has appointed Dan Leiter as head of international for its credit and insurance strategy, leading the group’s efforts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The firm also said it appointed Michael Carruthers as European head of private credit, reporting to Leiter. Leiter was previously a Morgan Stanley executive while Carruthers moves from a co-chief investment officer role within Blackstone’s private credit group.
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Investcorp Corsair Infrastructure Partners said it has appointed John Porcari as managing director for public policy and partnerships. He moves into the role from his part-time position as an operating partner, which he took up in 2017. He is a former deputy secretary of the U.S. Transportation Department in the Obama administration.
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Lower midmarket firm Trive Capital in Dallas said it has added Amy Wesley as global head of investor relations. Wesley previously spent 10 years at Carlyle Group, most recently as chief of staff to the global head of investor relations.
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Health and wellness-focused firm Manna Tree Partners said it has added Adam Whitehead as director of investor relations and Attie Hoffman as vice president of strategic relationships. Whitehead previously served as head of investor relations, capital formation and ESG at healthcare investment firm CRG. Hoffman was an investment adviser in the asset and wealth management division at Goldman Sachs Group.
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A grand jury has been empaneled as part of the investigation into McKinsey’s opioid-related consulting, people familiar with the investigation said. PHOTO: FABRICE COFFRINI / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE / GETTY IMAGES
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The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into consulting firm McKinsey & Co. related to its past role in advising some of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers on how to boost sales, Alexander Gladstone reports for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. Federal prosecutors in Boston and Virginia are also probing whether McKinsey or any of its employees may have obstructed justice in relation to records of its consulting services for opioid producers, according to people familiar with the investigation, which has been ongoing for several years.
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Australian Retirement Trust, Australia’s second largest pension fund, has opened its first overseas office to help it work more closely with global investment managers, Alice Uribe reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The fund, which manages 280 billion Australian dollars, or roughly $182.6 billion, said its new London office puts it closer to the asset managers it works with and will initially focus on infrastructure deals.
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Prices for surgery, intensive care and emergency-room visits rise after hospital mergers. The increases often come out of workers’ paychecks, Melanie Evans reports for the Journal. Hospitals have struck deals in recent years to form local and regional health systems that use their reach to bargain for higher prices from insurers. Employers have often passed the higher rates on to employees, according to Zack Cooper, an associate professor of economics at Yale University.
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The Tokyo Stock Exchange aims to attract listings from Asian startups, leveraging the market’s recent ascent to record highs and positioning itself as a preferred fundraising destination for companies outside Japan, Kosaku Nariokav reports for the Journal. Under a new initiative, the exchange is working with banks and other partners to select a few startups from other parts of Asia this summer to help them grow their business for potential initial public offerings down the road, said Hiromi Yamaji, group chief executive of Japan Exchange Group, the parent company of the Tokyo exchange.
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