Good morning, Nina Lindholm here with the Europe edition of the Wire from the London newsroom. A “war for talent” – sparked by stresses from the global dispersion and mobility of employees in the remote working era and the emergence of new technologies such as AI – is driving activity in the HR software segment, Eric Erbeck, senior vice president in Houlihan Lokey’s technology group, told PE Hub earlier this year. Deals in the segment have not stopped since, and this morning we start with an HR software exit. Main Capital Partners has agreed to sell a fully cloud-based HR software provider to Rivean Capital.
Private equity is also clearly keen on picking up stakes in private credit managers. European investment firm Wendel Group is the latest to jump on the trend with a Chicago-based asset manager. We finish with a recap of some of our recent stories from our Dealmakers to Watch series. Fourth exit Main Capital Partners will sell Perbility, a fully cloud-based HR software provider, to Rivean Capital. For more on the deal, take a look at the premium Wire coverage here. Balance sheet build Let’s jump to another popular segment: private credit managers. This morning, we have Wendel Group agreeing to acquire an equity stake in Monroe Capital, an asset management firm. For more, including what role AXA IM Prime might play in the transaction, take a look at the full Wire coverage here. It’s not the first time that Wendel has invested in another alternative asset company. It entered talks a year ago to buy a controlling stake in IK Partners before completing the deal in May. Other recent deals involving PE firms picking up private credit managers include Armen’s minority investment in Signal Capital Partners, Brookfield Asset Management making a $1.5 billion investment in Castlelakeand Clearlake Capital Group agreeing to acquire MV Credit. For those keen on reading more on GP stakes, I recommend checking out Craig McGlashan’s story on how Armen leverages Europe’s heterogeneous market to diversify its GP stakes portfolio. ICYMI Our Dealmakers to Watch series has introduced us to several people launching new strategies and firms already. In case you have missed our recent coverage, here are some highlights from the latest instalments in the series. Premium Wire subscribers can read my highlights from the series. Other recent stories in our series include: Vistria’s Natasha Latif sees greater opportunities to make an impact in her newrole How a chance meeting led Jeff Aiello into a career in private equity Renovus Capital’s new principal Gary Tang eyes opportunities in healthcare services Keeping up with David Brisske, SKKY’s managing director Core’s John May: Lower-mid market is highly attractive Don’t fret, we’re not done just yet. Keep an eye on new additions to the series in the coming weeks. That’s all from me this morning. Obey Martin Manayiti will write to you later with the US edition of the Wire, and Craig McGlashan will be with you in the London morning tomorrow. Cheers, Nina Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ... |