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Hello {{first_name|friends}}, Happy Presidents' Day. Markets are closed, but the deal machine never sleeps.
Monday brought $16+ billion in announced take-privates across three continents—Macquarie locking down Australia's Qube for $11.7 billion, Mubadala taking CI Financial private for $3.36 billion, and Blackstone leading a $1.2 billion bet on India's AI infrastructure buildout.
M&G and CVC closed a $1.1 billion secondaries transaction that had been in the works since year-end. Arsenal Capital exited MaxHealth to Humana's CenterWell. Platinum Equity's already bolting on acquisitions to PlayPower four months post-close. Bain Capital cleared regulatory hurdles in India. And Apax Partners walked away from a $792 million Pinewood Technologies bid, citing market chop.
Nine deals, one withdrawal, and a reminder that global capital doesn't take holidays.
Let’s dive into it.
Macquarie Asset Management
Qube Holdings
Macquarie Asset Management locked down an $11.7 billion take-private of Qube, Australia's logistics heavyweight. Shareholders get $5.20 per share—a 28% premium to the last close before deal whispers started in November. UniSuper, which already owned 15%, is rolling its stake into the consortium rather than cashing out. Smart money staying in.
The consortium includes MAM managed funds, UniSuper, and Pontegadea. Qube operates 200+ sites across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia with a 10,000-strong workforce. This is Macquarie doing what it does best: plucking infrastructure assets off public markets and tucking them into private portfolios. The deal values the enterprise at nearly $12 billion and cements MAM's position as the region's infrastructure kingmaker. Qube joins Sydney Airport in the parade of Aussie infrastructure going dark.
Ben Way, Head of Macquarie Asset Management, and Ani Satchcroft, Co-Head of Infrastructure for Asia Pacific, are betting on population growth and rising trade demand across the region. The deal's subject to FIRB and ACCC approvals.
Blackstone
Neysa
Amit Dixit and the Blackstone Asia team just wrote a $1.2 billion check to Neysa, an AI infrastructure platform in India. The deal breaks down as $600 million in equity from Blackstone and co-investors, with another $600 million in debt financing lined up.
Neysa, founded in 2023 by Sharad Sanghi, builds GPU-based AI infrastructure for enterprises and government entities across India. The capital funds deployment of over 20,000 GPUs—positioning India as a serious player in the global AI compute race. Blackstone's infrastructure playbook strikes again, this time riding the AI wave in one of the world's fastest-growing tech markets.
Other equity investors include Teachers' Venture Growth, TVS Capital, 360 ONE Assets, and Nexus Venture Partners. DC Advisory served as lead financial advisor to Neysa. KPMG advised Blackstone. This is Blackstone doubling down on the "picks and shovels" of AI globally—following investments in QTS, AirTrunk, CoreWeave, and Firmus.
CVC Secondary Partners
M&G Investments
Emmanuel Deblanc at M&G and Louise Boothby at CVC Secondary Partners just closed a $1.1 billion managed fund secondary transaction. CVC committed the full amount to M&G's 2025 PE Secondary Fund, acquiring a portfolio of private equity interests—primarily in mature North American mid-market buyout funds.
The structure is clever. M&G keeps managing the portfolios and maintains the GP relationships, while CVC's capital provides immediate liquidity and future co-investment firepower. The deal closed December 31, but the announcement hit this week. It's the kind of creative secondaries structuring that's becoming table stakes in today's market. Evercore advised M&G on the transaction.
Mubadala Capital
CI Financial
Mubadala Capital is taking CI Financial private in a deal valued at approximately CAD 4.7 billion ($3.36 billion). Shareholders get CAD 32 per share—a 33% premium to Friday's close and a 58% premium to the 60-day VWAP. The enterprise value clocks in around CAD 12.1 billion.
CI Financial, one of Canada's largest asset managers, has been navigating choppy public markets. Mubadala's offer gives the company a chance to restructure away from quarterly earnings pressure. Another wealth manager heads for the private markets. The deal's subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder vote.
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Arsenal Capital Partners — CenterWell, Humana's healthcare services arm, completed its acquisition of MaxHealth from Arsenal Capital Partners. MaxHealth operates 82 owned and affiliated clinics across Florida, serving more than 80,000 patients in value-based care programs. Founded in 2015, MaxHealth was built through a roll-up of three physician-founded organizations under Arsenal's ownership. The exit to CenterWell—the nation's largest senior-focused, value-based primary care provider—gives the platform access to Humana's infrastructure and capital to scale further. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but Arsenal's thesis on consolidating Florida primary care clearly paid off.
Platinum Equity — Jacob Kotzubei and the Platinum Equity team are already putting PlayPower to work. Just four months after acquiring the recreational equipment manufacturer in October, Platinum announced PlayPower will acquire BCI Burke, an established leader in commercial playground equipment. BCI Burke, headquartered in Fond du Lac, WI, makes playground equipment for parks, schools, and residential communities. The deal's expected to close in Q2 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Financial terms undisclosed. This is classic Platinum—buy a platform, immediately start bolting on complementary assets. PlayPower gets broader product lines and BCI Burke's independent sales rep network. Expect more tuck-ins to follow. Lincoln International advised PlayPower.
Bain Capital — Bain Capital got the green light from India's Reserve Bank to acquire up to 41.7% of Manappuram Finance, a gold loan financier. The RBI approval cleared the way for Bain to invest approximately Rs 4,385 crore (about $525 million) at Rs 236 per share. The deal structure: Bain gets 18% through preferential allotment, then launches a mandatory open offer for an additional 26% from public shareholders. Bain becomes a joint controlling shareholder alongside existing promoters, with board seats to match. India's financial services sector continues to attract serious PE capital, and Bain's betting big on the gold loan category.
Hapag-Lloyd / FIMI — Zim Integrated Shipping Services, Israel's largest shipping company, is expected to announce it has reached an agreement to be sold in full to a consortium led by German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd and Israeli private equity firm FIMI. The deal is expected to be valued in the multibillion-dollar range. Zim's workers' union announced a 48-hour warning strike over the emerging deal, and reports suggest Israel is eyeing options to block it amid Hapag-Lloyd's ties to Qatar. The transaction would mark a significant consolidation in the global shipping sector.
Deals That Didn't Happen
Apax Walks Away from Pinewood
Apax Partners pulled the plug on its $792 million offer for Pinewood Technologies, the U.K.-based automotive software provider. The firm had proposed 500 pence per share in late January, sending Pinewood's shares up nearly 30%. The deadline to formalize the bid was February 26, but Apax bailed early.
The official line: "challenging market conditions." Translation: the AI selloff and broader tech volatility made the deal math stop working. Pinewood provides cloud-based software for car dealerships—sales, inventory, aftersales operations. It's a solid business, but not solid enough to justify the price in this environment.
Shares predictably tanked on the news. This is the risk when you're a public company in play—if the buyer walks, you're left trading below where you started. Apax had made multiple approaches before this one, so there was clearly interest. Just not enough conviction to close when markets got choppy.
Rallyday Partners - Rallyday Partners is hiring. The Denver-based firm posted multiple job openings as it scales following its second fund raise. The firm's tagline—"help companies rally and go bigger"—apparently applies to its own growth trajectory too. Rallyday's been building out its team throughout 2025, and the new positions signal continued momentum into 2026. If you're looking to break into PE or make a move, Rallyday's worth watching. Check out the openings here →
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That's the wrap. More deals coming your way tomorrow.
- Private Markets Minute Team