View this email online 

Align Capital eyes add-ons to E Source platform; Leeds Equity acquires Big Blue Marble Academy

Morning Hubs!

Hope you had a restful holiday break! Anything happening this early week of the new year?

• Align Capital eyeing add-on opportunities for its E Source platform
• Blackstone agreed to invest $2.4bn in Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
• Leeds Equity acquires Big Blue Marble Academy

Expanding

Align Capital Partners is on the hunt for add-ons to its E Source platform, a predictive analytics, market data and consulting group to the utility market, writes Michael Schoeck on PE Hub.

Subscribers can read more at the premium version of the Wire. 

Infra

Blackstone Group agreed to invest $2.4 billion in Northern Indiana Public Service Co., a unit of NiSource, the firm announced this week. The amount includes $2.16 billion for a 19.9 percent indirect non-controlling equity interest in the company.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to read more.

Early ed

Leeds Equity acquired Big Blue Marble Academy, which provides early childhood education in the southeastern US. The company provides educational services primarily to infants to four-year-olds, promoting child development and kindergarten readiness through a curriculum that emphasizes mindfulness, global perspectives, service learning and language skills.

To read more, upgrade to the premium version of the Wire.

Rockstars
We're starting to work on our annual Women in PE feature that runs in March. We're looking for recommendations from you, Dear Reader, on rock star women in the industry. We're mostly interested in women working on the deal side of the business, since that is the area that has traditionally been dominated by men, but we will include women who work in IR and on the LP side as well. Send your recs to me (christopher.w@pei.group) by Jan. 19.

Nominations should include short bios of the candidate that include accomplishments both in their professional career as well as a snapshot of activities outside of work.

The Women in PE feature includes 10 mini-profiles of superstar women in the business as the March cover story, along with additional feature coverage. (Let us know if you have thoughts on some topics to touch on.)

Check out past coverage here.

That’s it for me! Have a great rest of your Wednesday. Reach me with tips n’ gossip, feedback or book recs at christopher.w@pei.group or find me on LinkedIn.

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

The adoption of artificial intelligence is contributing to outside-in due diligence becoming a prerequisite for potential exits rather than just being a differentiator, Severin Matten, director and member of 3i’s global healthcare team, told PE Hub Europe in the latest of its outlook Q&As with private equity dealmakers.

What LPs think will happen in private equity in 2024: Private Equity International gathers market forecasts from leaders at Alaska Permanent Fund, Florida State Board of Administration, State of Wisconsin Investment Board and more.

Banner Ridge Partners has held a $2.15 billion final close for its latest flagship secondaries fund, Secondaries Investor has learned.

Agri Investor gives a quick recap of 2023 with a look at their ten most-read stories.

Sustainability has inspired investors to look at the fundamentals of Latin America’s timber resources in a new light. (Agri Investor)

As skills honed in the oil and gas industry are used to access the baseload source of power beneath our feet, this may be the decade when geothermal energy takes off at scale. (Infrastructure Investor)

Continuation vehicle transactions are expected to account for 9 percent of total PE distributions to LPs in 2023, according to preliminary data that mid-market investment bank Baird shared with Secondaries Investor.

How to hang onto a rising star: As firms take a more thoughtful approach to their cultures, more general partners are thinking about how to best mentor younger professionals. (Venture Capital Journal)

Retail properties in the US have felt the pain of a seismic shift in consumer behavior, but the asset class will emerge as a bright spot this year, says one of private real estate’s biggest managers. (PERE)

Energy transition funds were a bright spot in 2023, with products on offer increasingly capturing the sector’s depth. (Infrastructure Investor)

An ESG checklist for in house general counsels: With a variety of mandatory and voluntary disclosure regimes coming online this year, how can private markets firms stay ahead? Alex Farmer and Jennie Morawetz, partners at law firm Kirkland and Ellis, break down the key questions. (New Private Markets)