Good morning, Hubsters! Rafael Canton here with the US edition of the Wire from the New York newsroom. As we deal with a heat wave in New York this week, let’s look at a hot subsector for investment, cybersecurity and how AI is fueling some of the deals in the subsector. PE Hub has spotted several recent cybersecurity deals over the past two months from firms like HIG Growth Partners and Vista Equity Partners. Then, we have a deal announcement from the morning. Woodside has sold its 40 percent stake in Louisiana LNG Infrastructure LLC to Stonepeak for about $1.9 billion. Then, we’ll shift over to the Disruption Matters podcast which is back with a new episode focused on how best to assess, manage and recruit leaders capable of delivering growth in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty. Finally, we have Churchill Asset Management which surveyed 164 senior leaders from Churchill’s middle market private equity relationships to gauge sentiment in today’s market environment. Rise in cybersecurity Deal activity in the cybersecurity subsector has picked up in both June and May. We’ve spotted a few deals in cybersecurity with businesses that feature an AI component. In June, Vista Equity Partners-backed Securonix, acquired ThreatQuotient. In May, HIG Growth Partners made an investment in AgileBlue.
There have been other recent cybersecurity deals as well. In June, OMERS Private Equity-backed Integris acquired TechMD. In 2024, PE Hub reporter Obey Martin Manayiti highlighted seven cybersecurity deals from PE firms such as Thoma Bravo, TPG and Silver Lake. Cybersecurity has also been active in Europe. In May, PE Hub reporter Irien Joseph wrote about how European cybersecurity companies that scale across borders are commanding premium valuations. Foundation development Let’s look at a deal from this morning. Woodside has sold its 40 percent stake in Louisiana LNG Infrastructure LLC, an liquefied natural gas production project located near Lake Charles, Louisiana for about $1.9 billion. The buyer was Stonepeak. Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to learn more about this morning’s deal announcement. Delivering growth The Disruption Matters special podcast miniseries is back with another episode from its fourth season. This current season features industry experts discussing how private markets can deliver “weatherproof growth,” despite the headwinds of a tech revolution, geopolitics and volatile global markets. The second episode will focus on how best to assess, manage and, where necessary, recruit leaders capable of delivering growth in the face of such macroeconomic uncertainty. We learn about the very special “PhDs” that are fit for the moment, how technology can help with such a task, and how analog issues still matter most when it comes to leadership. Guests on this episode include Jason McDannold, Americas co-leader of private equity at AlixPartners; Ted Bililies, global co-leader of transformative leadership at AlixPartners; Allison Walker, head of talent for FTV Capital; Tyler Wolfram, managing partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners; Ditte Marstrand Wulf, head of leadership and culture at Triton; Hoyoung Pak, global co-leader, AI and data at AlixPartners; Andrew Weinberg, founder, co-CEO and co-chair of Brightstar Capital Partners; Erik Brooks, founder and managing partner of Ethos Capital. Normalized levels A quarter of middle market private equity leaders anticipate M&A activity to resume to normalized levels as early as H2 2025 according to a recent survey from Churchill Asset Management. Gain access to the survey and see my key takeaways in the premium version of the Wire. That’s it for me. If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat about deals in the tech, consumer or sports sectors, please email me at rafael.c@pei.group. Tomorrow, Nina Lindholm will be with you for the Europe edition of the Wire and Michael Schoeck will bring you the US edition. Cheers, Rafael Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 