At dinner last night in London’s financial district, known as the City, I had an interesting conversation with a friend about the nature of private equity and how it has evolved over the years. I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the middle market, and as a result, I think of PE as primarily an engine for growth, but my friend said he thinks of PE as financial engineering.
It’s a question I ask our reporters frequently when we’re discussing PE-backed deals: What does private equity bring to the table? I’d love to hear your perspective. Email me your thoughts at mk.flynn@peimedia.com.
Cycle-agnostic. One deal announced this week that we’ve been looking into is Carlyle’s acquisition of NSM Insurance Group from White Mountains for $1.78 billion.
It marks the global financial services group’s 10th insurance investment. To learn more about the transaction, PE Hub’s Obey Martin Manayiti caught up with James Burr, a managing director.
For more, read the story.
Healthcare opportunities. “Albaron Partners wants to make the transition from independent sponsor into the world of the funded as it brings its debut commingled pool to market for investments in buy-and-build healthcare opportunities,” writes Buyouts’ Chris Witkowsky.
Albaron, formed in 2017, is targeting $100 million with a $150 million cap for Fund I, which would give the firm spending power of up to $300 million with co-investments, people with knowledge of the firm told Buyouts. Albaron is working with placement agency WHR Capital on the fundraising, the sources said.
Its pre-fund deals include Beyond Podiatry, which the firm started building in 2019, and Innovation Fertility, which it first funded in 2020. The firm exited Metro Vein Centers last year, the people said.
For more on the firm and its founders, read the story.
Regulatory reactions. Earlier in the week, the SEC said it is extending the time period the public may comment on its proposed rules addressing private equity by another 30 days. The move comes after the agency “already received dozens of responses from industry trade associations, consumer advocates, public pension funds and other LPs, and even a former commissioner of the agency,” writes Buyouts’ Gregg Gethard.
Reactions to the proposed rules from the PE industry has been mixed, Gregg reporters.
Read the story.
That’s all for today. Buyouts’ Kirk Falconer will write tomorrow’s Wire, and Chris will write Friday’s. I’ll be back on Monday.
All the best,
MK
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