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Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James 'brings joy,' says Consortium Brand Partners founder Cory Baker

Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with the Wire.

This week marks the launch of the third season of The Morning Show, the Apple TV+ series starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

This morning, we’ve got an interview with Consortium Brand Partners, which earlier this month took a 70 percent stake in Witherspoon’s clothing line Draper James. The transaction marks the new firm’s debut deal.

We’ve also got a Deep Dive on a deal from EnCap Energy Transition.

Designing woman

The announcement earlier in September that new consumer-focused private equity firm Consortium Brand Partners had acquired a majority stake in Hollywood multi-hyphenate Reese Witherspoon’s clothing line, Draper James, generated lots of buzz in both fashion and investor circles, writes Iris Dorbian.

Draper James marks the inaugural acquisition for the New York-based buyout shop, which debuted in 2022.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to read Iris’ interview with Cory Baker, founder and managing partner of Consortium, and learn why he invested in the brand.

Battery power

The rise in demand and decrease in price of battery storage is fueling demand – and deals. In August, EnCap Investments and Apollo agreed to sell Broad Reach’s battery storage business to Engie, a utility company based in La Défense, France. Yorktown Partners and Mercuria Energy Group were also involved in the sale of Broad Reach.

To learn more about the deal, upgrade to the premium version of the Wire and read Rafael Canton’s interview with Shawn Cumberland, EnCap Energy Transition managing partner.

That’s all for today. Obey Martin Manayiti will be with you tomorrow, and I’ll be back with more on Monday.

In the meantime, Happy New Year to everyone celebrating Rosh Hashanah!

All the best,

MK

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

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Florida State Board of Administration, one of the US’s largest investors in private equity, is set to build out an internal co-investment program and has named a senior executive as head of the strategy. (Private Equity International)

Leeds Equity Partners is looking to raise $1.8 billion for its eighth flagship fund, according to public documents from Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds. (Buyouts)

Buying an infrastructure GP avoids the first-time fund blues: Last week’s acquisitions of DIF and ECP give infra-hungry private equity managers the exposure and the track-records to assuage LPs. (Infrastructure Investor)

Verdane, one of Europe’s largest direct secondaries specialists, has closed its latest flagship at nearly twice the size of its 2019-vintage predecessor, Secondaries Investor has learned.

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California lawmakers have passed the nation’s broadest carbon emissions mandates, rules that may well force some tough choices on private fund managers. (Private Funds CFO)