| View this email online The Wire Aug. 13, 2021 Hellman & Friedman bets $3.5bn on pets retailer, EQT sells cybersecurity business for $500mn Happy Friday! This is Karishma Vanjani with your latest PE deal updates, filling in for Chris, who's probably fishing while reading a great spy novel. In the wee small hours of this morning, two US PE firms announced high value deals – both with German companies. Zooplus, one of the largest online pet supplies retailers in Europe, announced a $3.5 billion takeover from US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman. Quickly following the news, EQT Private Equity said it will sell cybersecurity platform Utimaco to asset manager SGT Capital in a deal valued at $500 million, as reported by Bloomberg. In the case of H&F, the firm will focus on evolving Zooplus' position in the European pet category. Zooming out, pet product retailers and manufacturers have been witnessing a growing demand from private equity firms. Just yesterday, Kainos Capital announced the acquisition of Muenster Milling, a Texas-based pet food and ingredient manufacturer. The deal activity can be attributed to the increase in pet ownership alongside underlying trends like the upscaling of pet food and supplies. Read the Reuters pickup brief about the deal on PE Hub. Cybersecurity news: EQT's decision to sell Utimaco for $550 million comes after almost a five-year-long hold. The firm bought the company in 2016 and has since then executed five add-ons in the US, UK, Spain, and Germany and tripled its revenues, according to EQT's press release on PE Hub. Just yesterday, Warburg Pincus announced its investment in a provider of cybersecurity and compliance solution, A-LIGN. Another notable cybersecurity deal this month was by Audax Private Equity in Team Cymru. Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub... That’s it for today! Have a great weekend, and as always, write to me at karishma.v@peimedia.com with any feedback, tips, gossip or just to say hello. Also of note (may require subscriptions) Blue Owl to raise secondaries: Blue Owl Capital is set to expand its private equity offering, three months after its formation via a merger. The listed investment manager will launch funds focused on secondaries, co-investments and GP-lending. Read the story on Buyouts. Bridging the racial divide: Northwestern Mutual, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based life insurance company, announced the launch of an impact investing fund yesterday as part of its strategy to invest $100 million in Black, African American and minority-owned businesses. Read the story on affiliate magazine, New Private Markets. Across the atlantic: Baring Private Equity Asia is in advanced talks to acquire content outsourcing company Straive from Swiss buyout firm Partners Group Holding AG, according to a Bloomberg report. PE Deals They said it “We do know that nearly two-thirds of Black-owned businesses are financed outside traditional sources – either through cash, friends and family or cashing in retirement accounts – and when financed, Black-owned businesses receive about half the loan amount as white owned businesses.” Ray Manista, Northwestern Mutual’s executive vice president, told New Private Markets. Today's letter was prepared by Karishma Vanjani. Subscribe now to get full, unlimited access to all PE Hub content, including every PE Hub Wire article. FIND OUT MORE Please visit Buyouts for the latest insight into LP activity and Venture Capital Journal for comprehensive coverage and analysis of what’s happening in VC. London | New York | Hong Kong PEI Media Group Ltd is registered in England no.6135779 Registered office: 7th Floor, 100 Wood Street, EC2V 7AN To update your PE Hub email preferences, or to unsubscribe, click here. | 