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Insight, Sixth Street Growth join to bet on Kiteworks; Data centers cool down

Happy Wednesday, PE Hubsters! Rafael Canton here writing to you for the latest edition of the Wire. We have a tech-filled Wire today, starting with a cybersecurity deal announcement. Insight Partners and Sixth Street Growth have made an investment together, putting in $456 million into secure data transfer company Kiteworks. PE Hub reached out to both firms to learn more about the deal.

Next, we have a look at data centers which have been a big topic recently. PE Hub has highlighted recent deals involving data centers and we also take a look at the third part of Venture Capital Journal’s five-part series about data centers, which centers around cooling strategies.

Then, we dive into roofing and restoration in dealmaking. Home Depot’s president and CEO expressed concerns about consumers spending less on home improvement projects, but dealmaking in private equity has been largely unaffected.

Finally, we have a positive update in the consumer sector, where a big deal was announced earlier this morning.

Eliminating cyber threats

Insight Partners and Sixth Street Growth announced today that they have made a $456 million growth equity investment in Kiteworks. The minority stake is meant to strengthen Kiteworks’ market position in secure data transfer and collaboration. To learn more about the deal, I reached out to Eoin Duane, managing director at Insight Partners, and Alex Katz, managing director at Sixth Street Growth, to learn about the deal.

Subscribers to the premium version of the Wire can read more insights about this new cybersecurity deal.

PE Hub reporter Obey Martin Manayiti covered a slew of recent PE deals that have happened in the cybersecurity space. PE firms such as Thoma Bravo, TPG and Silver Lake were involved in the dealmaking action.

Cooling down

Keeping up our focus in the technology sector, let’s shift over to data centers. Venture Capital Journal senior reporter David Bogoslaw continues with his five-part series that digs into why data centers are a massive opportunity for investors. Part 3 of the series looks at cooling strategies for data centers.

Upgrade to the full version of the Wire to learn more about strategies for cooling data centers.

PE Hub has been keeping an eye on PE dealmaking involving data centers. We recently highlighted several deals in the data center category over the past six months.

Roofing deals building up

Thanks to high interest rates and concerns about the economy, consumers are spending less on home improvement projects according to Home Depot.

Premium Wire subscribers can read about insights about the consumer sector from Home Depot.

PE Hub has seen several deals in the roofing sector. In May, PE Hub senior reporter Michael Schoeck highlighted several residential and commercial roofing services companies that were on the block. In March, we highlighted seven deals that took place in the roofing and restoration space over a two-month period.

Consumer action

Continuing the consumer conversation, the future is looking up in the consumer sector. 

Subscribers to the full Wire can learn more about what’s going on in the consumer sector.

That’s it from me today. If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat about the technology and consumer sectors, please email me at rafael.c@pei.group.

Michael Schoeck will be with you tomorrow for Thursday’s Wire.

Cheers,

Rafael

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

At a time when a sense of uncertainty looms over much of the private equity market, a new survey shows an overwhelming majority of limited partners are looking for a succession plan from general partners when allocating funds. On the other side, only a minority of GPs are able to offer one. (Buyouts)

General Atlantic believes there is substantial M&A potential for women’s health app Flo Health, given that the platform is used by one in four women in the US, said principal Jessie Cai, who outlined to PE Hub Europe what potential add-ons could bring to the business.

South Carolina-based real estate investment manager Greystar is expanding into infrastructure following the hiring of Michael Hoverman from CIM Group, where he had most recently been a principal in its infrastructure unit and a member of its investment committee. Hoverman joined Greystar to lead the program as executive director for infrastructure. (Infrastructure Investor)

Blackstone, Carlyle and Partners Group are all known to be targeting Japan to offer wealth solutions and evergreen funds. KKR – the second-largest private equity firm globally, according to the 2024 PEI 300 ranking – is now catching up with its peers. (Private Equity International)

EQT Private Equity will acquire a majority stake in AMCS, a sustainability-focused software provider. (PE Hub Europe)

Henley Investment Management has set out to raise the third fund in a series aimed at building car wash facilities across the Southeast US under its AquaSonic brand. The London-based firm began marketing the strategy in summer 2023 and has raised $35 million in equity together with $45 million in debt across the first two funds. (Private Equity Real Estate)

They said it

“The combination of an increasing, ever-evolving cyber threat landscape combined with an intensifying regulatory environment makes cybersecurity one of the most interesting areas for investment. The recent CrowdStrike outage and associated ripple effects served to re-emphasize how central security has become to every aspect of the enterprise IT system.”

— Alex Katz, managing director at Sixth Street Growth on Sixth Street and Insight Partners’ growth investment in Kiteworks