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Bridgepoint said to advance bidders to second round for Flexitallic; GroundForce among PE firms keen on beverage deals

Happy Friday, Hubsters. Nina Lindholm here with the Friday Wire.

We’ll start today’s newsletter with a scoop by my colleague Michael Schoeck. Bridgepoint recently advanced bidders into the second round of a sale process for a maker of gaskets for the oil and gas market, three sources briefed on the matter told Michael.

Also this week, Michael reported that Warburg Pincus is talking to investment bankers about a potential sale of a pump maker for the gas market, according to his sources.

It’s been a hot summer, so what better way to cool off than with a batch of beverage deals? PE Hub has noticed a flurry of activity in the beverage space, and my colleague Iris Dorbian has compiled the deals into one story.

To finish this morning, we’ll highlight our H2 Outlook series, in case you’ve missed any of those.

Second round

Bridgepoint recently advanced bidders into the second round of a sale process for a century-old manufacturer of gaskets and sealing products for the oil and gas and refined fuels markets, three sources briefed on the matter told PE Hub’s Michael Schoeck.

Premium Wire subscribers can read more about it here. It explores what makes the company appealing to buyers and how Bridgepoint has grown the business since acquisition.

Drink up

Dealmaking in the consumer sector has been especially hard hit in the deal downturn, but some pockets of it have proven to be recession-resistant, such as beverages, writes my colleague Iris Dorbian.

Starting from late last year, PE Hub has noticed a flurry of deals in the beverage space that support this thesis, involving firms such as L Catterton, Kingswood Capital and One Rock Capital.

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

Looking ahead

Throughout August, PE Hub has been running a series of H2 Outlook stories to hear dealmakers’ thoughts on how the first six months have gone, and what their thoughts are about the market going forward.

In case you missed any of them, or are perhaps looking for some weekend reading, I’ve gathered the stories we’ve published so far in the series here.

• OMERS Private Equity’s Jonathan Mussellwhite: Valuation outlook cloudy

• Battery Ventures ‘pretty optimistic’ on second half as uncertainties clear

• Schroders Capital prepping companies for sale in second half

• Bain Capital ‘wide open for business’ despite market ‘bifurcation’

• Baird’s Louise Kingston: US offering opportunities for UK businesses

• Blackstone’s Juergen Pinker: LP demand for energy transition growing

Don’t fret, the series has not finished yet. Keep your eyes peeled for more outlook stories in the final weeks of August.

That’s all from me today. I’ll be with you again next Friday.

Cheers,
Nina

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

The latest 'Off-duty' column from Buyouts talks with Sumana Setty, general counsel at Wafra, about racket sports, French jazz and ‘future-proofing’ private equity.

What do LPs get out of selling on the secondaries market? Despite a couple of pulled-transaction anomalies, secondaries sales are still seen as a powerful tool for rebalancing portfolios. (Private Equity International)

New Private Markets takes a look back at H1, giving six quotes from LPs around the world to show what's on the minds of investors in sustainable private markets.

Blackstone and Brookfield remain private real estate’s biggest fundraisers, but evidence points to other firms getting more investor attention these days. (Private Equity Real Estate)

They said it

“We’re still in the throes of many consumer businesses dealing with the impacts of the cost of living, inflationary pressure and some legacy supply chain disruption. All that has meant that buyers have been more cautious about consumer assets and sellers launch processes only if they’re certain that they’re going to get a good reception.”

— Nigel Walder, partner, Bain Capital, in our H2 Outlook series