S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of global private equity news stories and more published throughout the week.
EQT AB (publ) COO Caspar Callerström described a "crowded and competitive" fundraising environment on the Swedish private equity firm's first-quarter earnings call.
That is translating into a "little bit of slowness" as EQT raises capital for a new slate of investment strategies, added CEO Christian Sinding, who still expressed confidence in the firm's ability to hit fundraising targets. Its flagship funds are still seeing a "quite healthy demand" from investors, Sinding said.
The comments delivered April 26 gave a from-the-trenches perspective on the hyperactive pace of fundraising in private equity, with an estimated 15 buyout fund managers all attempting to raise $15 billion or more for their strategies this year, according to the 2022 Market Overview report from Hamilton Lane Inc.
Sinding added that it is "actually very normal" for newer private equity products to take longer to hit fundraising targets than better-established strategies. EQT set a €21.5 billion hard cap for its latest flagship private equity fund, EQT X, targeting a goal far above the €15.6 billion it raised for the fund's predecessor in 2021.
Read more on EQT's first-quarter earnings call here.
CHART OF THE WEEK: Slow pace of PE buyouts in medtech sector
⮞ Large private equity buyouts of companies in the medtech sector have been on a slower pace since 2005, with a few years sometimes passing between $1 billion-plus deals.
⮞ Some observers see a possible revival in those deals following ArchiMed SAS's approximately $1.2 billion all-cash deal to take Natus Medical Inc. private.
⮞ The most recent previous deal totaling at least $1 billion was in 2019, when Baring Private Equity Asia agreed to acquire Lumenis Ltd. for about $1 billion.
FUNDRAISING AND DEALS
* In its latest spree of acquiring publicly traded real estate investment trusts, Blackstone Inc. agreed to buy PS Business Parks Inc. for about $7.6 billion through affiliates of its real estate arm. The deal is slated to close in the third quarter.
* Ares Management Corp. unit Ares Capital Management LLC will buy Annaly Capital Management Inc.'s middle-market lending portfolio for approximately $2.4 billion. The transfer of the portfolio is expected to be finalized by the end of the second quarter.
* KKR & Co. Inc. raised $19 billion for KKR North America Fund XIII at final close. The fund will target opportunistic private equity investments in North America.
* Mattel Inc. is said to be in discussions with private equity firms, including Apollo Global Management Inc. and L Catterton Partners, for a potential sale of the toy manufacturer, The Wall Street Journal reported. Sources close to the matter told the publication that the negotiations are at an early stage.
ELSEWHERE IN THE INDUSTRY
* Middle-market private equity firm Tiger Infrastructure Partners LP amassed $1.25 billion for its third flagship fund Tiger Infrastructure Partners Fund III LP. The fund received commitments from new and existing limited partners.
* U.K.-based venture capital firm Cambridge Innovation Capital Ltd. secured £225 million for its second fund.
* Northleaf Capital Partners Ltd. purchased a majority stake in London riverboat service Uber Boat by Thames Clippers from Anschutz Entertainment Group.
* Growth Catalyst Partners LP's second fund, Growth Catalyst Partners II LP, closed at $270 million.
FOCUS ON: MEDIA
* ABRY Partners LLC provided $100 million in capital to Hartbeat LLC, a multiplatform media company created by entrepreneur and entertainer Kevin Hart.
* GTCR LLC made a strategic investment in advertising research, analytics and media planning software company SQAD Inc.
* Snow Peak Capital LLC bought a majority stake in Sandy Alexander Inc., a multichannel marketing communications company.