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LLCP and SV Health in exits; Kim Kardashian’s SKKY Partners debuts; Sterling talks School of Rock growth

Good morning Hubsters, Craig McGlashan here with the Tuesday Wire.

When I went on holiday a couple of weeks ago, I’d been hearing plenty about how the exit market was still in the doldrums. But judging on today’s evidence, things are picking up a little.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and SV Health Investorsare the private equity firms making exits.

We then take a look at a debut deal by a new private equity firm – the Kim Kardashian co-founded SKKY Partners.

Switching back to exits, and Iris Dorbian hears from Sterling Partners’ Avi Epstein about how his firm turned its investment in School of Rockup to 11 before its sale.

Finishing things off on the exit theme, MK Flynn speaks to Michael Chang of BC Partners in a webinar.

Exit flurry

We’ve been writing plenty both on PE Hub and PE Hub Europe about the difficulties of the exit market, but on today’s evidence at least, things are getting a little busier.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP) has sold Therapeutic Research Center (TRC), an education and training provider to healthcare professionals and institutions. Colibri Group, a portfolio company of Gridiron Capital, is the buyer.

Elsewhere in new exits, the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), run by private equity firm SV Health Investors, has agreed to sell its portfolio company Caraway Therapeuticsto multinational pharma company Merck.

Check out the subscriber version of the Wire for details including the deal size.

In season

We’re going to switch from exits for a moment to cover a big entrance.

SKKY Partners, the private equity firm that counts Keeping Up with the Kardashians star and social media influencer Kim Kardashian among its co-founders, has made what we understand to be its first investment.

Read the full version of the Wire for more.

Rock out

Iris Dorbian has aninterview this morning with Sterling Partners managing director Avi Epsteinabout his firm’s recent exit fromSchool of Rock.

Read the full interview to find out what attracted Sterling to the business and how it grew the company during its ownership.

ICYMI

With many exit routes blocked – most notably the IPO path – private equity firms are turning to other PE firms for help growing big businesses. Back in July, BC Partners brought in Apollo Global Management to take a minority stake in PetSmart, a business BC bought in a take-private deal back in 2015.

PE Hub editor-in-chief Mary Kathleen (MK) Flynn spoke with Michael Chang, partner, private equity, at BC Partners about the co-investment in a recent webinar. If you missed it live, you can watch it here.

The webinar is a glimpse of what’s to come at Private Equity International’s NEXUS 2024, which we’re hosting March 6-8 at the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes.

NEXUS 2024 promises to set the stage and provide a preview of what’s to come for dealmakers as the year unfolds. Meet the GPs and LPs you’ve seen quoted in PE Hub over the years. Hear from luminaries about how the challenging economy is playing out in the deal landscape.

Keynote speakers include: Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer, Blackstone; Howard Marks, co-founder and co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management; and David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of Carlyle Group.

Click here to learn more about NEXUS 2024.

OK that’s a wrap. Chris Witkowsky will be with you tomorrow for Wire Wednesday.

Cheers,

Craig

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Goldman Sachs’ secondary advisory group is gradually building up its team as it has won some recent mandates. Goldman told staff today that it is hiring Nicholas Gleize as a senior vice-president on the advisory team. Gleize is joining from Evercore, where he has worked as a vice-president on the secondary advisory team, sources told Buyouts.

Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System passed on a secondaries sale in 2023 despite the system’s desire to shrink the number of managers in its portfolio. (Buyouts)

Alison Humphrey, former head of ESG and sustainability at TPG, has launched Arna, a capital advisory group focused on climate. (New Private Markets)

Inside Clipway’s tech-enabled secondaries strategy: Four ways the AI and machine learning-focused firm is deploying its tech-enabled secondaries system in the LP portfolio market. (Secondaries Investor)

In a report seen by New Private Markets and due to be published later this week, bfinance argues that looking at managers through a double materiality lens can help investors expose GPs hiding ESG failings behind ‘solutions’ or ‘thematic’ investment strategies.

Relative value in the commercial real estate market, after a decade of growth fueled by low interest rates, has pivoted to the credit side of the business, according to panelists at the PERE America Forum, held last week in New York.

Atlanta-based KORE Wireless has refinanced its outstanding broadly syndicated debt of $300 million. According to a statement, it has received a $185 million five-year loan from Whitehorse Capital and a $150 million strategic investment from firms advised by Searchlight Capital Partners. (Private Debt Investor)

Devon Park Advisors, an advisory firm founded by secondaries market veteran Jonathan Costello, has tapped Greenhill for a new partner. (Secondaries Investor)

Defy VC, which raised its third fund earlier this year, is building out its team with the addition of Amy Yin as a venture partner and Medha Agarwal as a general partner. (Venture Capital Journal)