Morning Hubs! This is Chris, on for Wire Wednesday. Things ostensibly are trending better on the deal side, but as we often hear, exits are the true challenge in today’s market. The question is, at what point does a sponsor finally decide to simply lock in a lower valuation – maybe even a loss – to generate liquidity for LPs in older funds? Here’s some news: • Brynwood puts Hometown Food sale process on ice, sources say • THL co-CEO Todd Abbrecht sees ‘some green shoots’ in the market • SDC Capital runs single-asset secondary on dark-fiber company Longer hold Brynwood Partners paused its auction of Hometown Food Co. after receiving low bids, according to sources, writes Michael Schoeck on PE Hub this morning. The firm will likely hold the platform for at least a year after the pause, Michael writes. Read more here on PE Hub. Green shoots Todd Abbrecht, co-CEO of Thomas H Lee Partners, chatted with Hub reporter Obey Martin Manayiti about the firm’s recent $2.5 billion take-private of Agiliti, which provides medical tech management and services, as well as what the firm is seeing in the market around M&A. A portion of the Q&A is below: What about the challenges? How would you compare those challenges to previous years? Last year, we weren’t sure if the world was moving toward rapid inflation or a severe recession. While extreme macroeconomic outcomes appear less likely than 12-18 months ago, operating visibility is still challenging. Because we operate only in subsectors that meet stringent criteria, and because our [Strategic Resource Group] has spent 17 years mastering the art of helping middle market companies achieve their objectives, we feel confident that we can be a strong partner to our portfolio companies in any macro environment. Read more here on PE Hub. Continuation SDC Capital, a digital infrastructure-focused fund, has been running a continuation fund process to extend its hold over SummitIG, which runs fiber-optic networks for carriers, data center operators, content providers and large businesses in northern and central Virginia. Read more here on Buyouts. That’s it for me! Have a great rest of your Wednesday. Hit me up with tips n’ gossip, feedback or book recommendations at christopher.w@pei.group or find me on LinkedIn. Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 