Good day, Pro Readers! The Covid pandemic and the years since have cast a spotlight on the rising need for mental healthcare across our nation and the difficulties the country faces in providing it. This morning, our own Maria Armental reports on a growth investment in a young company called Two Chairs, which seeks to connect patients with therapists. Meanwhile, Isaac Taylor has details on Evolution Equity Partners' newest and largest fund. 

Finally, Luis Garcia looks at another growth investment, this one in an energy-focused software company called GridBeyond.

Dive in for more on these stories and many others …

Boston-based investment firm Fifth Down Capital and venture-capital investor Amplo are backing a $72 million debt and equity investment in Two Chairs, a mental-health startup that connects patients with therapists, Maria Armental reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. Two Chairs has seen its business expand rapidly over the past three years, as the demand for mental-healthcare services has intensified.

Evolution Equity Partners has wrapped up fundraising with $1.1 billion collected for a fund to back cybersecurity companies through growth investments, Isaac Taylor reports for WSJ Pro. Evolution Technology Fund III eclipses the firm’s second main pool, which held $400 million in committed capital for investing in cybersecurity and software companies when it closed in 2021.

A group of investors that includes Spanish investment firm Alantra Partners and clean energy-focused firm Energy Impact Partners have backed a roughly $55.6 million growth investment in GridBeyond, a Dublin-based  developer of artificial intelligence-powered systems that help businesses and grid operators balance electricity supply and demand, WSJ Pro’s Luis Garcia writes. GridBeyond’s technology helps its customers navigate a power supply market that has become increasingly difficult to read due to a combination of unpredictable weather, rising energy demand and other factors.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York said it has formed a strategic alliance with publicly traded Elevance Health to develop innovative ways to provide primary care across the U.S. The deal calls for Elevance’s Carleton Health to work with apree health and Millennium Physician Group, both backed by CD&R.

Clearlake Capital Group in Santa Monica, Calif., has raised its offer to take private cloud-software company Blackbaud to $80 a share, more than a year after its initial bid of $71, which Blackbaud rejected as too low. Clearlake already owns about 18% of Blackbaud’s shares and the new bid gives the company an equity value of $4.3 billion, Chris Wack reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The new offer represents a nearly 4.3% premium to Friday’s close at $76.72 on the Nasdaq stock market.

I Squared Capital said that it is partnering with a group of Japanese investors that include corporations Osaka Gas and Japanese industrial conglomerate Sumitomo, as well as government-supported Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corp. to support a $370 million investment in the Natural Gas Transition Platform. The Singapore-based platform is a holding company for gas distribution networks in Indian cities. The networks develop and operate compressed natural gas stations and distribute piped natural gas as well as liquefied natural gas to industrial and commercial customers.

Private-credit investor Oak Hill Advisors said it is supporting a unitranche financing facility to support the refinancing of Carlyle-backed Acentra Health. Acentra offers technology products and services that help government healthcare agencies administer federal and state healthcare programs including Medicaid and Medicare. The company was formed last year by the merger of Carlyle-backed CNSI and Apax Partners-backed Kepro.

Multistrategy money manager ClearBridge Investments is urging directors of Model N to reconsider their acceptance of a $30 per share buyout by Vista Equity Partners, saying the cash deal worth about $1.25 billion undervalues the revenue optimization company. The price represents a roughly 11% premium to the $27.09 per share closing price in New York in the most recent session before the agreement was made on April 7 and has the support of the San Mateo, Calif., company’s directors. Franklin Templeton-affiliated ClearBridge said it held about 6.7% of Model N shares at the end of last year. The firm issued its statement after trading closed Monday, with Model N shares ending little changed at $29.65 each.

Swiss buyout firm Partners Group Holding said it is acquiring a minority interest in property-focused Trinity Investments for $500 million and can add to its stake later under an agreement with the Honolulu-based firm. Partners and Trinity began co-investing in deals in 2022 and most recently acquired a resort hotel in Arizona earlier this month.

A group led by logistics investor Brad Jacobs and his Jacobs Private Equity II fund has altered the terms of its $1 billion investment in building products company SilverSun Technologies, eliminating a spin-off of the company’s business and agreeing to pay existing company shareholders dividends totaling $17.4 million, up from $2.5 million under a December agreement. Jacobs, the executive chairman of less-than-truckload carrier XPO, said near the end of last year that he planned to start a technology-focused company called QXO to acquire businesses distributing products from lumber, doors and windows to landscaping supplies. SilverSun was to become a platform for his rollup strategy, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. Co-investors in the original deal included Sequoia Heritage.

Northleaf Capital Partners in Toronto said it served as lead arranger of a $100 million asset-backed second lien credit facility for Cutting Edge Group, which invests in and manages music rights. Northleaf is investing in the London company through the asset-based specialty finance strategy within its private-credit group.

Warburg Pincus in New York said it is backing Vietnamese hospital group Xuyen A, which owns and operates four full-service facilities in and around Ho Chi Minh City. The firm described the commitment as a growth investment in the 10-year-old company.

Fundless growth investor Respida Capital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., led a $30 million growth investment in facility-management-systems provider Ecotrak, joined by Carver Road Capital and existing backer Gala Capital Partners.  The Irvine, Calif.-based company’s internet and mobile-based offerings are used by companies such as Dutch Bros Coffee and Dave & Buster's to make their operations more efficient.

Maverix Private Equity in Toronto said it led a $30 million growth investment in building efficiency company Kode Labs, joined by Telus Ventures and existing backer I Squared Capital. The Detroit company’s systems are used to integrate control of building infrastructure such as heating and cooling to make operations more efficient, according to a news release.

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

Apax Partners said it has agreed to buy payroll and human resources software provider Zellis Group from fellow private-equity investor Bain Capital. Although Apax did not disclose terms of the deal, Bloomberg News put its value at about £1.25 billion (or around $1.56 billion), citing people familiar with the matter. Bain initially acquired the Bristol, U.K.-based software provider back in 2017.

Buyout firm Hellman & Friedman is supporting a roughly $821 million acquisition of software company Snap One Holdings by strategic buyer Resideo Technologies, which is offering $10.75 a share in cash for Snap One shares, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The deal represents a 32% premium to Friday's closing price of $8.14 for the Charlotte, N.C.-based provider of smart-living products and services. Hellman & Friedman, which took the company public in 2021 at $18 a share, still owns around 72% of Snap One. A $500 million perpetual convertible preferred equity investment from private-equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice is helping Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Resideo finance the deal.

Marex Group, a commodities trading company backed by London’s JRJ Group, said its backers plan to sell more than 11.5 million shares through an initial public offering in New York, priced from $18 to $21 a share, a regulatory filing shows. JRJ holds about 61% of the London-based company’s equity, alongside BXR Group, while Trilantic Capital Partners controls about 24%, the filing shows. Both firms have indicated they plan to sell shares in the offering, which is expected to give Marex a Nasdaq listing with a market value of as much as $1.49 billion. Marex said it plans to sell more than 3.8 million shares in the offering on top of the amount being sold by investors.

Private equity-backed fashion retailer Tendam plans an initial public offering early next year, Reuters reported, citing Chief Executive Jaume Miquel. Tendam confirmed the report, Andrea Figueras writes for Dow Jones Newswires. CVC Capital Partners and PAI Partners both hold substantial stakes in the Spanish company, with their latest investments in 2017 valuing the business at about €1 billion, equivalent to about $1.06 billion, Reuters said.

Financial services provider and fund manager Willis Towers Watson’s investments arm said it is setting up a private-equity long-term asset fund called CG WTW Private Equity Access LTAF to invest in the asset class, including through direct co-investments. The London-based firm said its 360,000-member LifeSight defined contribution pension plan has agreed to allocate as much as 5% of its assets to the new fund, which has total commitments of more than £450 million, or roughly $560.7 million. Willis advises on more than $4.7 trillion and manages $187 billion.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based private-equity firm Highland Rim Capital is seeking $200 million for Highland Rim Capital Partners A LP and a related parallel fund, according to a regulatory filing. Highland Rim targets investments in companies with $10 million to $100 million in revenue and between $2.5 million and $10 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, according to the firm’s website. Highland Rim Co-founders and Partners Chris Godwin, Mark Isaacs and Matt Lane all previously worked at Nashville-based private-equity firm Gen Cap America before launching Highland Rim.

Waud Capital Partners in Chicago said it has hired Jessica Schmitt as head of investor relations. She previously held a similar role with growth investor Arrowroot Capital.

Industry consulting firm Bain & Co. said it has appointed Alexander Schmitz to head its private-equity practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, succeeding Christophe De Vusser, who has been elected as worldwide managing partner. Schmitz is based in Dusseldorf, Germany. He joined the firm about 21 years ago.

Macquarie Group-backed impact investor Galway Sustainable Capital in Washington said it has added Derek Porter and Steve Hane as vice presidents in its asset-management operations, serving as operating partners for companies and projects backed by the firm. Galway also said it has appointed Jennifer Simpson as chief operating officer and Kara Parmelee as general counsel. Macquarie Asset Management last year committed $250 million to the firm through its green investment strategy.

Wayzata Investment Partners, a private-equity firm based in Plymouth, Minn., has settled an alleged pay-to-play violation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency announced. In 2022, a firm employee made a $4,000 campaign contribution to a political candidate in Minnesota, in violation of pay-to-play rules that prohibit investment managers from making campaign contributions that could potentially influence investment decisions. Because the Minnesota State Board of Investment had committed about $300 million to Wayzata vehicles between 2007 and 2013, the contribution was prohibited, the SEC said. Wayzata agreed to pay a $60,000 penalty without admitting or denying the allegations. A firm spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a settlement with a former Francisco Partners consultant over allegations of insider trading, the agency announced. Gil Friedman agreed to pay a penalty of $298,000 under the settlement, without admitting or denying the charges. In its complaint, brought in 2023, the agency claimed that in 2018, Friedman tipped off a close friend about Francisco Partners' plans to buy Verifone, allowing the friend to make about $300,000 in profit by buying the company’s shares before the deal was announced and selling them after.

Blue Owl Capital will increase its stake in European buyout shop CVC Capital Partners, committing to invest in up to 10% of the firm’s initial public offering of shares. CVC expects to raise at least €1.25 billion, or roughly $1.33 billion, by selling new shares as well as stock from some existing shareholders. Selling shareholders include the Kuwait Investment Authority, Danube Investment, Singapore's GIC and Hong Kong-owned Stratosphere Finance. At the end of last year, members of CVC management controlled about 74% of the equity. Strategic investors such as GIC and KIA controlled about 18%. Blue Owl owned about 8% of CVC’s equity through a 2021 deal that valued the firm at around $15 billion including debt and other items, setting a benchmark valuation to measure the success of the IPO, the Journal reported.

An investment group dropped its long-shot bid to resurrect bankrupt trucker Yellow, ending an effort to unwind one of the biggest failures ever in the trucking business, Paul Berger writes for the Journal’s Logistics Report. Sarah Riggs Amico, the executive chair of specialized auto carrier Jack Cooper Transport and the group’s leader, said the offer was formally withdrawn Friday after it failed to get engagement from Yellow as the trucker auctions off facilities and equipment in bankruptcy.

Investment firms Capital Research and Management and Discovery Capital Management lost an effort to force Apollo Global Management-backed telecommunications company Embarq to declare a default on bonds that predated Apollo’s 2021 leveraged buyout of the business, Alexander Gladstone reports for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. A New York State Supreme Court justice dismissed the investors’ claims, ruling that the buyout debt didn’t cause a default in the bond owned by the two firms and issued years earlier.

Thoma Bravo-backed property-management software company RealPage faces lawsuits and government investigations into how it determines rent recommendations to its landlord clients, with state prosecutors alleging its methods amount to illegally fixing of apartment rental prices, Will Parker reports for the Journal. Authorities in Arizona and Washington, D.C., are suing RealPage, and more than a dozen of its landlord customers. North Carolina's attorney general is investigating whether the company's technology breaks antitrust laws. The Justice Department is also weighing civil action and has begun a criminal investigation into the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Goldman Sachs Group said trading revenue rose 10% in the first quarter, driven by lending to institutional clients, such as hedge funds and private-equity firms, the Journal reports. Revenue from the New York bank’s asset- and wealth-management division, its second largest group, surged 18% to $3.79 billion, helped by record fees.

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