It’s Friday and as we head into another fall weekend, secondaries continue to shine beneath the shadow of a challenging fundraising landscape. This morning, our own Rod James has details of StepStone Group’s latest secondary haul, which came in at more than double the size of its predecessor. Meanwhile, our Wall Street Journal colleagues report that Asia-focused firm MBK Partners raised its bid for Korea Zinc in what could become Korea’s largest tender offer to date.

There’s all that and so much more, so dive in and have a great weekend!

StepStone Group has amassed $7.4 billion to invest in secondhand trades of private-equity assets with more than double the amount it raised for the fund’s predecessor, a sign of the continued resilience of secondaries in a historically poor period for private-equity fundraising overall. The New York private-asset manager raised $4.8 billion for StepStone Secondary Opportunities Fund V, its latest flagship fund dedicated to acquiring stakes in private-equity funds from institutional investors and another $2.6 billion across separate account mandates.

Buyout firm MBK Partners and a group that includes major shareholder Young Poong have raised their bid to acquire control of metals company Korea Zinc in Seoul, sending shares of the world's largest refined zinc producer to fresh highs Thursday, P.R. Venkat reports for The Wall Street Journal. The group is offering to pay 750,000 won per share, equivalent to $561.57, to acquire an additional 14.6% stake in the company, putting the total deal value at $1.7 billion. That would make it “the biggest tender deal South Korea’s ever seen,” said Sanghyun Park of Clepsydra Capital. The bid represents a 14% increase to the group’s original offer at 660,000 won per share. Korea Zinc shares closed with a 1.3% gain Thursday at 713,000 won each.

Peloton’s chief marketing officer has a strategy to get the beleaguered fitness company back on track: Don’t talk only about the bike.

Data centers have long been squat, utilitarian boxes. But as they move to cities and suburbs, they’re going multistory and getting fresh touches like glass and greenery.

TPG-backed DirecTV is in advanced talks to acquire its satellite-TV rival Dish, people familiar with the matter said, in a deal that could create one of the country’s largest pay-TV distributors after decades of aborted attempts to combine, The Wall Street Journal reported. A deal could be finalized as soon as Monday, assuming talks don’t fall apart, the people said.  Both companies have been shedding customers as viewers balk at the rising cost of traditional television channels against cheaper and easier-to-cancel streaming services.

Blackstone has agreed to a £10 billion, or roughly $13.42 billion, investment in a U.K. data center, collaborating with Britain’s government in a project that’s expected to create 4,000 jobs in northeastern England. The plan calls for constructing the largest data center devoted to artificial intelligence in Europe. Work on the site is expected to begin next year. Blackstone has also agreed to set up a training fund with £110 million to support the center’s operations.

Buyout firm KKR & Co. and the Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund are acquiring a majority stake in a regional airport operator in Queensland, Australia, as the aviation industry continues its postpandemic recovery, Mike Cherney reports for the Journal. The group is buying a roughly 75% interest in Queensland Airports from sellers that include Macquarie Asset Management and two Australian retirement funds, State Super and Australian Retirement Trust.

Apollo Global Management and banking services provider Citigroup have set up a $25 billion private-credit operation to make business loans initially in North America, joined by Mubadala and Apollo’s insurer Athene. The arrangement gives Apollo greater access to Citi banking clients while the global lender gets a line on the asset manager’s deep pools of capital, Steve Gelsi reports for sister publication MarketWatch.

Specialist Health2047 Capital Partners in Reno, Nev., led a $140 million growth investment in portfolio company and Medicare Advantage insurance provider Zing Health, joined by CR Group in Houston and First Trust Capital Partners. Several other existing investors also participated, including Newlight Partners.

Buyout firm TPG plans to join New Mountain Capital as a minority investor in wealth-management services provider Homrich Berg, investing through its TPG Growth strategy. Homrich said it manages assets of about $18 billion. Reuters said the deal values the Atlanta business at about $1 billion, citing people familiar with the matter. New Mountain has backed the registered investment adviser since 2021.

Investcorp has acquired U.K. specialist legal services provider Stowe Family Law from fellow private-equity firm Livingbridge in London. Livingbridge had backed the Leeds, England-based law firm since 2017, according to its website.

The credit arm of Vista Equity Partners is providing $100 million in financing to hotel technology company Mews Systems. The Dutch software and online systems provider aims to use the fresh financing to expand further into the travel and tourism industry, after having acquired nine hospitality companies so far.

Midmarket-focused DC Capital Partners Management in Alexandria, Va., is backing PK Companies Group, taking a control position as the company’s founders reinvest to hold a minority interest. Wichita, Kan.-based PK provides inspection, repair and maintenance services for industrial plants and commercial facilities.

New State Capital Partners in New Rochelle, N.Y., has acquired a majority stake in trade show and event services provider Expo Group, joined by Panos Partners in Dallas and investing alongside company management. Irving, Texas-based Expo arranges and manages more than 500 events annually.

The midmarket-focused private-debt arm of AEA Investors is supporting the acquisition of DROP Sprockets by LFM Capital-backed Weller Metalworks, a fabricator and machining company set up by LFM last year. Nelson, British Columbia-based DROP supplies components to a variety of industries.

Biotechnology-focused Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge, Mass., is backing startup Mirai Bio with a $50 million commitment to accelerate its build out of a system for genetic medicine research and development across the industry. Mirai uses machine learning and artificial-intelligence technologies in its open platform.

Edison Partners in Princeton, N.J., led a $20 million growth investment in portfolio company K1x, which provides clients with automated distribution of Schedule K-1 tax forms used by taxpayers to report partnership and S-corporation income, losses and dividends. The latest deal adds to a $15 million commitment Edison made to the company in December 2022, shortly after it began operating.

Vance Street Capital in Pacific Palisades, Calif., is backing video monitoring company Pro-Vision. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company’s systems are used to surveil commercial locations, transit and school facilities. The firm is investing out of its Vance Street Capital IV fund.

Wellington Management, joined by several strategic investors and Japan venture capital firm DNX, is investing $72 million in database company Crisp, which serves more than 6,000 customers in a variety of mostly retail-oriented businesses. The company’s systems include data analytics used to monitor supply chains.

Private-equity firm HV Capital in Munich led a €62.8 million, or $70.2 million, growth investment in German energy developer Marvel Fusion, Christian Saller, general partner with the firm, said in a LinkedIn post. The company is working on creating a commercially viable fusion-energy generator within a decade.

Lightspeed Venture Partners in Menlo Park, Calif., and 360 ONE Asset Management in Mumbai led a $65 million growth investment in healthcare company Qure.ai Technologies, joined by Kae Capital among other investors. The developer of artificial intelligence-enabled diagnostic and disease-management systems aims to use the fresh capital to expand into the U.S. market.

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

Buyout firm KKR & Co. chalked up a win with the sale of roadway safety and hazard mitigation company GeoStabilization International to Leonard Green & Partners, saying the deal delivered a fivefold return on its investment. KKR in New York invested through its Americas XII Fund under its Ascendant strategy in 2018. The firm said all the company’s roughly 900 workers who joined before December 2023 will receive cash payouts as a result of the sale, delivering more than $325,000 in proceeds to the longest-tenured hourly employees of the company, also known as GSI. The payouts are expected to range from the equivalent of three months to three years of pay.

Warburg Pincus-backed oil-and-gas company Citizen Energy has agreed to be acquired by strategic buyer Validus Energy for more than $2 billion, including debt, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal comes amid a wave of consolidation that has been sweeping through the U.S. shale industry. Validus prevailed in an auction for the Tulsa, Okla.-based company, Reuters said.

MCH Private Equity-backed bread dough supplier Europastry aims to raise €210 million, or $233.8 million, through a reinstated initial public offering in Madrid, Ian Walker reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The Barcelona-based supplier of frozen baked goods to retailers such as Starbucks expects to price the IPO at €15.85 to €18.75 a share. Europastry pulled a previous IPO plan in July, citing market conditions. Madrid-based MCH first acquired a minority stake in the family-owned business in 2011 and currently holds it through a continuation fund, according to the firm’s website.

Insight Partners is among sellers of credit-card fraud-prevention software supplier Featurespace, which strategic buyer Visa has agreed to acquire. Born out of the engineering department of England’s Cambridge University, the company’s technology uses algorithmic-based analysis of transaction data to detect fraud and other financial crimes. Insight backed the business in a 2019 growth investment round, according to PitchBook Data.

Golding Capital Partners has wrapped up raising Golding Buyout 2021, closing the fund with €250 million, or about $280 million. The Munich-based firm uses the fund to make primary and secondary investments, including backing continuation funds.

Kainos Capital in Dallas has elevated David Gassko and Jeff Moredock to partner from principal. Gassko initially joined the firm in 2013, returning after graduate school, while Moredock came aboard in 2017.

Credit specialist Castlelake has promoted Alexander Curcio to partner, strengthening its European team. He joined the Minneapolis-based firm in 2018.

Publicly traded Mutares, a Munich-based buyout shop, responded to a report by Gotham City Research, faulting the report for presenting previously published details “in a misleading manner” that distorts facts and boosts Gotham City's economic interests. Gotham City’s General Industrial Partners has shorted shares of the firm. Mutares said exit deals starting in 2022 have generated more than €200 million in proceeds, which accords with its strategy of acquiring businesses, restructuring them and selling them to strategic buyers. Mutares shares fell as much as 28% in German trading Thursday after Gotham City alleged accounting irregularities at the firm and said it appears increasingly reliant on debt, Steve Goldstein reported for Dow Jones Newswires.

Britain’s Financial Reporting Council has advised accounting companies and “recognised supervisory bodies” to contact the council if approached by managers of private capital interested in investing in their businesses. The council cited its concern about changes in ownership “emphasising the need to maintain audit quality, independence, and public interest focus” in a statement Thursday.

Female representation in European private-equity firms has risen to 24% from 20% in 2022 and senior investment roles held by women have climbed to 14% this year from 10% around two years ago, according to a new report from Level 20, a not-for-profit organization, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News in London. The group said there is more “work to be done,” with the picture becoming mixed when viewed in greater detail amid decreases in some countries as well as in seniority cohorts and within asset bands and strategies. Progress at the junior level is slow, rising to 35% from 34% since 2022.

Blackstone said it expects to report more than $300 million in performance revenue and principal investment income from realizations for the third quarter through Sept. 24. About 85% of the estimated total is from performance revenue. The New York firm manages assets of more than $1 trillion.

More owners of midmarket businesses have an excellent or very good outlook for their operations over the coming 12 months than has been the case in years, a KeyBank survey shows. The spring poll of 706 owners and executives of businesses with $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenue showed 78% have the most optimistic outlook, which the Cleveland-based bank said was the highest in years.

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