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Battery Ventures missed out on fund-operations company Maybern’s Series A growth round last year. “We were slightly outcompeted at that stage, and I was determined it would not happen the second time around,” Marcus Ryu, a Battery general partner told me. Battery is now lead investor in Maybern’s $50 million cash injection, more than tripling the company's valuation to some $270 million.

Next, The Wall Street Journal's Lauren Thomas reports Clayton Dubilier & Rice is in talks to take packaging-provider Sealed Air private, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Journal's Miriam Gottfried reports on Clearlake’s big bet on investment manager Pathway Capital. People familiar with the matter say the deal calls for Clearlake to pay nearly $1 billion as part of a deal that would roughly double Clearlake’s assets under management to about $185 billion.

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Battery Ventures led a $50 million investment in financial technology company Maybern, seizing on the explosive growth across various private markets, WSJ Pro's Maria Armental reports. Battery’s investment in the fund-operations company aims to bridge a technology gap in private markets. While the industry is measured in the trillions of dollars under management across strategies—from private equity and venture capital to credit funds and real estate—it still runs largely on a patchwork of old technology.

Clayton Dubilier & Rice is in talks to take packaging-provider Sealed Air private, Lauren Thomas reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Sealed Air has a market value of around $5.4 billion and a deal including a typical premium would value the company above that, the people added. The company's shares rose sharply in after-market trading Wednesday following the report.

Private-equity firm Clearlake Capital Group is buying investment manager Pathway Capital Management in a deal that will roughly double its assets under management, Miriam Gottfried reports for the Journal. Clearlake will pay nearly $1 billion for Pathway, according to people familiar with the matter. The acquisition would bring Clearlake's assets under management to about $185 billion. 

WSJ Pro is celebrating 10 years of publishing its annual "Women to Watch" list, a steadily growing list that highlights the accomplishments of outstanding women in the private-equity and private-credit fields. We're accepting nominations for the next class of senior deal professionals, rising star deal professionals, as well as limited-partner or fundraising professionals, and private-credit professionals, through Nov. 19, 2025. Submit your nominations here.

Thoma Bravo has secured the support of stockholders for its $70-a-share offer to acquire human-resources software provider Dayforce in a deal that values the company at around $12.3 billion. Thoma Bravo made the offer for the Minneapolis company in August and expects to close the deal either late this year or early next, subject to regulatory approvals.

Multistrategy investment manager KKR & Co. has agreed to buy student loans issued by Sallie Mae, starting with a small number and rising to debts totaling at least $2 billion annually for three years. The New York firm is investing from its credit funds and asset-based lending strategy.

Ares Management led a $1.1 billion debt refinancing for distributor Quirch Foods, investing alongside Regions Bank and other participants. Ares invested through the U.S. direct lending strategy of its credit group.

Macquarie Group's asset-management arm is providing $787.5 million to Applied Digital through the purchase of preferred equity. The investment is part of the Australian firm's $5 billion commitment to invest in the developer of data centers.

Canadian pension investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Motive Partners along with several other backers are providing $650 million in fresh capital to wealth-management systems provider FNZ Group. The company said some of its clients also joined the investment.

Singapore's Temasek Holdings, BullhoundCapital and Triatomic Capital led a $275 million growth investment in generative artificial-intelligence software developer d-Matrix, joined by the Qatar Investment Authority and several others in a transaction that valued the business at $2 billion. D-Matrix in Santa Clara, Calif., makes an inference engine used in AI applications and servers that run them.

Balyasny Asset Management and Hanwha Asset Management were among participants in a $238 million growth investment in vehicle automation systems developer Forterra that was led by Moore Strategic Ventures. The Clarksburg, Md.-based company develops technology for the Defense Department, including self-driving and robotic vehicles.

Goldman Sachs' asset-management arm led a $225 million growth investment in women's wear company Skims at a $5 billion enterprise value, joined by BDT & MSD Partners. The business, co-founded by celebrity entrepreneur Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede, sells direct to consumers online and through its own stores, as well as other retailers.

Blackstone is on the verge of acquiring the Four Seasons hotel in downtown San Francisco, Craig Karmin reports for the Journal. The New York investment firm is expected to pay about $130 million for the 277-room hotel on Market Street near Union Square and the city’s financial district, according to people familiar with the matter.

StepStone Group led a $75 million growth investment in software maker Scribe, joined by existing backers including Amplify Partners and Tiger Global Management in a transaction that values the business at about $1.3 billion. The San Francisco-based company uses artificial-intelligence technology in its workflow applications and serves about 600,000 organizations.

New Enterprise Associates led a $55 million growth investment in specialty medicines-focused House Rx, joined by several other investors. The San Francisco company with nearly 250 employees works with clinicians and drugstores to provide pharmacy services to patients.

Apollo Global Management affiliate New Catalyst Strategic Partners is backing private-equity firm Ironleaf Capital in its first investment through a strategy to support emerging-fund managers. New York-based Ironleaf, founded this year by Managing Partner T.J. Rose, a former Veritas Capital partner, focuses on buyouts of technology-enabled businesses that aim to improve healthcare operations.

Software investor Sundance Growth is backing supply-chain applications developer Orbweaver. The Bethlehem, Pa.-based company's programs provide data integration and automation to electronics industry parts suppliers. Founded by Accel-KKR veteran Christian Stewart, Menlo Park, Calif.-based Sundance raised a $125 million debut fund this year, closing it at its hard cap.

Veritas Capital is acquiring software maker and defense contractor MetroStar Systems, investing through the Veritas Capital Vantage Fund. The Reston, Va., company develops software and provides services that use artificial-intelligence technology.

​​Diversis Capital has acquired three companies focused on hospital supply chains and combined them into one business. Meperia, Kermit and Cork, Ireland-based Genesis Automation Healthcare will operate under the Genesis brand.

Growth investor DST Global participated in a $21 million investment in Sunday, a payments services provider whose customers include Au Cheval, TAO, Boqueria, Bareburger and La Pecora Bianca, according to an emailed news release. Founded in 2021, Sunday now works with more than 3,500 restaurants in the U.S. and Europe, processing some $4 billion in payments a year.

Ancor Capital Partners has backed its fourth deal in the environmental sector with an investment in Vapor Systems Technologies, which designs and manufactures vapor recovery and fuel dispensing solutions for gasoline dispensing facilities.

Midmarket investor H.I.G. Capital in Miami is backing residential warranty provider Rely Home. The Edison, N.J.-based company offers contracts to homeowners nationwide that provide protection against unexpected costs to repair or replace appliances, plumbing, heating and other systems.

Turnspire Capital Partners has acquired LifeLine Foods as well as ICM Biofuels, which is being combined with LifeLine as the St. Joseph, Mo.-based LifeLine Group. The company makes corn-based products.

Private-equity firm Manna Tree is backing dietary supplements company Plant People, acquiring a minority stake in the business. Unilever Ventures also joined the growth investment round.

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

Blackstone agreed to sell Dutch lender NIBC Bank to ABN Amro for around €960 million, or about $1.11 billion, Elena Vardon reports for the Journal. Blackstone’s exit is expected to generate total proceeds of more than €2 billion for investors, which includes €1.1 billion in realized dividends, a firm spokesman said.

Vistara Growth has closed on $321 million for its fifth structured capital fund focused on backing technology companies, raising about 66% more for the vehicle than it collected for a predecessor. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based firm has already invested in eight deals from the new fund.

Mayfair Equity Partners dealmaker Neil Price has joined investment bank Houlihan Lokey, helping to bolster its European team, Sebastian McCarthy reports for sister publication Private Equity News. Price is based in London as a managing director in the bank's financial-sponsors group.

Great Hill Partners in Boston has added Phil Galati as a growth partner. He is a former president and chief executive of Accelerate Learning.

The private-credit boom is rapidly changing the investments made by U.S. life insurers, with some firms parking more than half the fixed-income assets they need to fund policies and annuities in hard-to-trade debt, Matt Wirz reports for the Journal, citing research by Moody’s. Two of the most exposed companies are Security Benefit Life Insurance, which is owned by Todd Boehly’s investment firm Eldridge, and Delaware Life Insurance, a subsidiary of private equity-owned Nassau Financial Group, according to the research.

Law firm McDermott Will & Schulte is weighing new ways to operate. “While this is all very preliminary and we are fielding inbound interest, as one of the fastest growing, most successful modern law firms, we are constantly approached and we always listen to new ideas,” Chairman Ira Coleman said in an email to WSJ Pro’s Laura Kreutzer. “This is how we find the best opportunities to attract and retain the industry’s top talent and what our clients expect from us. We’re excited to learn from other leading organizations as we challenge the status quo.” The Financial Times previously reported that the firm was contemplating setting up a structure that would open the door to private-equity investment. The FT said no agreements had been made and no new structures had been created, citing people familiar with the situation.

Australian alternative-investment manager Navigator Global Investments aims to double its annual earnings by mid-2030, supported by an expanded roster of partner firms, Stuart Condie reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Navigator believes its existing holdings, which include stakes in real estate-focused Invictus Capital Partners, credit specialist Bardin Hill Investment Partners and healthcare specialist 1315 Capital, can support average annual earnings growth of 10% through its 2030 fiscal year. On top of that, it is actively looking to add one or two more investments a year.

Technology-focused TA Associates has established Lanas Healthcare Technologies, built around recently acquired Clanwilliam Group and backed by more than $115 million in acquisition funding. The Dublin-based business aims to focus on acquiring other healthcare technology businesses that build on its operations in the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The financing package includes participation from Apollo Global Management, Hayfin Capital Management and Arcmont Asset Management.

Lincoln International's index that tracks U.S. privately held businesses shows their value increasing at a slower rate than the S&P 500 index, even when the seven big technology companies that dominate that gauge are removed. Enterprise values of privately held businesses gained 2.9% during the third quarter, compared with a 4.4% gain in listed companies. Lincoln said part of the reason for the gap includes rising overall public equity prices, expanding earnings multiples during the period even as private companies' earnings rose more than the members of the S&P index.

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