Good morning dealmakers, thank goodness it’s Friday! It’s Obey Martin Manayiti here with the Wire. Today I am capping off the week with a look at six accounting services deals here in the US and in Europe that caught the attention of my colleague Nina Lindholm. I’m also featuring my interview with Stellex Capital Management managing director David Waxman who said his firm’s Titan Acquisition Holdings joint investment with Carlyle was spurred partly by the US Navy’s need to modernize and expand its fleet. But first let’s look at this morning’s news, starting with an interesting deal from KKR. More connectivity KKR has entered into an agreement with telecommunication service providers Telefónica Hispanoamérica and Entel. The New York headquartered PE firm will acquire a majority interest in PangeaCo, which will subsequently acquire the existing fiber optic networks of the two companies. The newly formed network will be open access, allowing usage to all internet service providers for the first time. Get more on this deal in the premium version of The Wire. Music catalogue HarbourView Equity Partners has agreed to acquire select recorded music and publishing assets of recording artist Wiz Khalifa. Based in Newark, New Jersey, HarbourView invests in entertainment and media. We profiled Clarke Soares back in 2022. The job on the shipyard The US Navy’s need to modernize and expand has fueled the growth of Titan Acquisition Holdings, a bi-coastal ship repair services provider, David Waxman, a managing director at Stellex Capital Management, told me after his firm recently exited the company. Stellex and The Carlyle Group bought Titan in 2019. In June, the two PE firms sold it to Lone Star Funds for an undisclosed amount. Based in Portland, Oregon, Titan offers ship repair services as well as marine and heavy complex fabrication to the US Navy, US Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, US Army, Boeing, cruise lines, fishing fleets, barges, ferry services for local and state governments, and other key commercial and US government customers. More on this deal in the premium version of The Wire. Balancing the books The first half of the year saw fresh interest from private equity firms in accounting and tax services, wrote my PE Hub Europe colleague Nina Lindholm. Some firms are interested in the consolidation opportunities, some see potential in digitalizing the industry further, and all are feeling increased compliance and regulation demands. PE Hub subscribers can get details on six such deals here. That’s it for me today. PE Hub editor-in-chief MK Flynn will be back with the Wire on Monday. Have a nice weekend. Cheers, Obey Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 