Private equity deal news and insights from the London newsroom

KKR wraps up IQGeo take-private; CDPQ to take minority in First Hydro; Fertility, govtech among recent PE trends

Good morning,

It’s Nina Lindholm with the Europe edition of the Wire from the London newsroom.

Large amounts of dry powder combined with a struggle to find attractively priced targets in the private markets have driven many private equity investors to explore take-private deals. One recently completed example is KKR’s take-private of IQGeo, a geospatial software provider to telecommunication and utility operators.

Renewables are another popular target for PE investors. We have a fresh deal in the segment this morning as CDPQ has agreed to acquire a minority stake in a Welsh electricity generation and storage facility from Brookfield Asset Management.

To finish, we explore some of the sectors private equity firms have been betting on of late.

Done deal

KKR has completed its £333 million ($444 million; €398 million) acquisition of IQGeo, a geospatial software developer.

The deal was first announced in May.

To find out more, take a look at the premium version of the Wire here.

For more on why private equity is so keen on take-privates, make sure to check out my colleague Rafael Canton’s piece on the topic. Rafael caught up with Stephen Leitzell, a partner at Dechert, to learn why PE dealmakers are pursuing public targets, and he compiled public-to-private deals we saw in Q1. You can find the story here.

Critical role

CDPQ has agreed to acquire a 25 percent stake in First Hydro Company, an electricity generation and storage facility in the UK, from Brookfield Asset Management.

Take a look at the full Wire coverage to learn more.

Sector selector

A slew of deals in one subsector tends to indicate that private equity has identified an opportunity. When we at PE Hub spot one, we’ll collate the deals for you and explore the trends behind the activity.

For my highlights from our recent stories, check out the premium version of the Wire here.

Our other recent round-up stories include:

Keeping fit: 6 PE deals in sport, health and wellness
PE sees opportunities with 5 senior healthcare deals
Keeping the critters at bay: 8 PE-backed pest control deals
Opportunity for innovation: 7 private equity deals in foodservice

That’s all from me today. Michael Schoeck will write to you with the US edition later today, and Craig McGlashan will be back tomorrow with the Europe edition.

Cheers,

Nina

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

AI and the future of value creation

Episode 3 of Disruption Matters is now out - Managing the middle: How today's tech can help companies pivot

Click here to listen

Today's must reads

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Bain Capital’s special situations platform steps into the light. ‘It's the golden age of flexible capital,’ Angelo Rufino, Bain's head of North America special situations and corporate special situations in Europe, told Buyouts.

Florida SBA to explore private credit secondaries. The institution wants to understand “how deep the private credit secondaries market is” after seeing stellar returns from PE secondaries, senior portfolio manager John Mogg said in a recent advisory council meeting. (Secondaries)

Impact investors look for ‘missing middle’ opportunities. Having helped the impact investing industry to scale and institutionalize, CalSTRS, Capricorn, Builders Vision, Makena and Accelerate are finding new investment avenues for the industry's growth. (New Private Markets)

EQT closes maiden core fund below target on €2.9bn. Despite missing the €5bn target, EQT’s head of Active Core Infrastructure Alex Greenbaum tells us its ‘among the best amount of capital’ raised during the timeframe. (Infrastructure Investor)

The long, slow road to performance recovery. The industry is grappling with another round of ‘challenged vintages’ as the asset class seven consecutive quarters of negative results. (PERE)

“To capitalize on the global growth potential ahead, increased investment and an acceleration of IQGeo's strategy are imperative, and private ownership under KKR will help facilitate this.”

— Rami Bibi, managing director and head of EMEA, KKR Global Impact

Today's letter was prepared by Nina Lindholm

Subscribe now to get full, unlimited access to all PE Hub content, including every PE Hub Wire article.

London | New York | Hong Kong | Tokyo | Sydney

PEI Group Ltd is registered in England no.6135779

Registered office: 5th Floor, 100 Wood Street, EC2V 7AN

To update your PE Hub email preferences, or to unsubscribe, click here.