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Hello {{first_name|friends}}, Thursday brought a fascinating cross-section of the private markets.
A $350M+ AI chip round launched from Dubai. A nearly $700-megawatt natural gas plant just finished construction in Louisiana. A South Korean dried seaweed brand got a new PE sponsor with serious K-food credentials.
On the credit side, a rising chorus of heavyweight voices is openly questioning whether private lending has gotten too aggressive, with one well-known fund halting quarterly withdrawals and sparking "canary in the coal mine" comparisons.
Meanwhile, fundraising kept humming: a Canadian tech fund blew past its target by over a billion dollars, and a continuation vehicle from one of the industry's most established secondaries players closed north of a billion. Add in a pair of billion-dollar-plus public M&A bids, a fresh securitization earning inaugural AAA ratings, and a growing PE land grab in the wealth management space, and you have a full plate.
Let's dive in.
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners
Completes 694MW Magnolia Power Generating Station in Louisiana
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners has completed construction of the Magnolia Power Generating Station, a 694-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas facility in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The project represents a significant milestone in Blackstone's broader energy transition infrastructure strategy.
Combined-cycle gas plants are increasingly viewed as a critical bridge fuel for the energy transition, providing reliable baseload power while renewables scale. Magnolia's size and location in the Gulf Coast energy corridor position it well to serve industrial and utility demand across the region.
Lone Star Funds
Acquires 90 High Holborn, Central London Office Building
Lone Star Funds, deploying capital from Real Estate Fund VII, has acquired 90 High Holborn, a prominent office building in Central London. The acquisition adds a marquee asset to Lone Star's dedicated real estate vehicle.
London office assets have seen selective buyer interest as valuations recalibrate post-rate-cycle. High Holborn's central location and profile suggest Lone Star sees value in repositioning or holding a core asset at an attractive basis. The deal reflects continued institutional appetite for prime UK commercial real estate despite broader uncertainty in the sector.
Angeleno Group
Growth Equity Investment in NESTEC, Industrial Air Pollution Control Platform
Los Angeles-based Angeleno Group has made a growth equity investment in NESTEC, a leading platform in industrial air pollution control. Angeleno, focused on clean energy and climate solutions, is backing NESTEC as demand for emissions reduction infrastructure accelerates across heavy industry.
NESTEC's positioning in air pollution control taps into both tightening regulatory standards and corporate sustainability commitments. For Angeleno, the deal fits squarely within its thesis of scaling proven climate-tech platforms with strong industrial end markets.
TPG Real Estate / Acadia Realty Trust
$440M Joint Venture Across Seven Retail Assets
TPG Real Estate has entered a $440M joint venture with Acadia Realty Trust, acquiring an 80% interest across six Acadia Fund V assets plus one wholly-owned property. Acadia retained 20% and provided approximately $27M of financing within the JV structures. Recent acquisitions in the portfolio include the Shops at Skyview and LINQ Promenade.
The deal structure gives TPG significant exposure to Acadia's curated retail portfolio while keeping Acadia aligned as an operating partner with skin in the game. It is a textbook example of how REITs and institutional capital are partnering to recycle capital and share risk in today's retail environment.
iAltA Holdings (WestCap-backed)
Acquires Delio, a White-Label Private Markets Distribution Platform
iAltA Holdings, backed by WestCap, has acquired Delio, a white-label operating system for private markets distribution and reporting. This marks iAltA's third acquisition for its Private Markets vertical.
Delio enables asset managers and wealth firms to digitize, distribute, and report on private market products, hitting squarely on the infrastructure gap as alternative investments push further into the wealth channel. For iAltA, the acquisition deepens its tech stack at a time when distribution tooling is becoming a competitive moat for fund managers trying to reach non-institutional buyers.
UCK Partners
Acquires 49.9% Stake in Haenong Co., South Korean Dried Seaweed Manufacturer
UCK Partners has acquired a 49.9% stake in Haenong Co., a South Korean dried seaweed manufacturer, for approximately $49M (total company value roughly 70 billion won). Gravity PE and Otium Capital are exiting as part of the transaction, while the founder retains 50.1%. Samil PwC advised the sellers.
UCK plans to accelerate overseas expansion of the K-food brand, and its track record here is worth noting. The firm previously backed Gong Cha and Sulbing, two of the most successful Korean F&B exports in recent memory. If you are watching the intersection of PE and Asian consumer brands, this is one to track.
One Peak
$25M Growth Equity Investment in ThreatAware, Cyber Asset Management Platform
One Peak has invested $25M in ThreatAware, a cyber asset management and cyber hygiene platform serving over 100 enterprise customers. ThreatAware grew to profitability without any external capital prior to this round. The funds will expand North American operations and accelerate development of its AI-powered security workspace product.
One Peak, with $4B in AUM, continues to build out its cybersecurity portfolio. ThreatAware's bootstrapped path to profitability is a compelling signal for growth investors looking at capital-efficient SaaS in a sector where buyer urgency is only increasing.
SambaNova Systems
$350M+ Growth Round, Unveils SN50 AI Chip from Dubai
SambaNova Systems has raised over $350M in a growth round and unveiled the SN50, an AI chip it claims is 5X faster than competitive offerings for agentic AI workloads. The company also announced a collaboration with Intel. The round was announced from Dubai, underscoring the global appetite for AI infrastructure investment.
The agentic AI thesis is drawing serious capital, and SambaNova's chip-level play puts it in direct competition with the largest semiconductor companies in the world. Announcing from Dubai is a deliberate signal: sovereign and institutional capital from the Gulf is increasingly central to AI infrastructure buildouts.
From our Sponsor:
White Oak Commercial Finance
$35M Asset-Based Lending Facility to Unicat Catalyst Technologies
White Oak Commercial Finance, part of White Oak Global Advisors, has provided a $35M asset-based lending facility to Unicat Catalyst Technologies, a specialty chemicals and industrials business.
The deal is a straightforward ABL transaction, but it reflects White Oak's continued push into niche industrial borrowers where traditional bank appetite has thinned. Specialty chemicals businesses often carry complex collateral profiles, making them a natural fit for direct lenders with sector expertise.
Pacific Coast Alternatives
$4.25M Secured NAV Lending Facility to Independent PE Sponsor
Pacific Coast Alternatives has closed a $4.25M secured NAV lending facility to an independent PE sponsor, collateralized by the borrower's ownership interests in a diversified group of operating companies spanning manufacturing, energy distribution, IT services, hospitality, and travel. Nelson Mullins served as PCA's counsel. Nader Hashemian is Managing Partner.
NAV lending to smaller, independent sponsors is a growing corner of private credit. For sponsors without the scale to access larger facilities, firms like PCA are filling a meaningful gap.
Avant
Closes $200M Personal Loan Securitization with Inaugural AAA Ratings
Avant has closed a $200M personal loan securitization, its 23rd since founding in 2012 and its 7th revolving transaction. The deal earned inaugural AAA ratings from both Fitch Ratings and KBRA. The structure provides over $500M in financing capacity over its life, and Avant now has approximately $2.5B in long-term funding commitments.
Hitting AAA on a consumer lending securitization is a significant milestone for any fintech originator. It signals that rating agencies see real structural durability in Avant's collateral performance and deal engineering. For the broader consumer credit ABS market, this is a positive data point.
Novacap
Tech Fund VII Closes at ~$3.8B, Surpassing $2.75B Target by Over $1B
Novacap has closed Technology Fund VII at approximately $3.8B, blowing past its $2.75B target by more than a billion dollars. The fund was raised in under a year and is the largest in Novacap's Technologies strategy. The firm now manages over $12B in AUM. Led by President and CEO Pascal Tremblay, the fund targets profitable, growing North American B2B software and tech-enabled services companies.
Raising a billion dollars above target in under twelve months is a statement. Novacap's track record in Canadian and North American enterprise software clearly resonates with LPs looking for exposure to the mid-market tech buyout space.
HarbourVest Partners
Inaugural PECS Fund Closes at $1.1B for Single-Asset Continuation Transactions
HarbourVest Partners has closed its inaugural PECS (Private Equity Continuation Solutions) Fund at $1.1B. The fund focuses on single-asset continuation transactions, building on HarbourVest's track record of $12B+ committed across 120+ continuation transactions historically. The firm committed approximately $2.8B to continuation opportunities last year alone.
Continuation vehicles have gone from niche to mainstream, and HarbourVest is formalizing what has been a core competency into a dedicated fund. At $2.8B deployed into continuations in a single year, the firm's scale in this segment is hard to match.
Star Mountain Capital
SBIC Fund II Closes at $286M, Oversubscribed
Star Mountain Capital has closed SBIC Fund II at $286M, oversubscribed. The employee-owned firm, with $4.5B in AUM, deploys a lower middle-market lending strategy through its SBIC license.
The SBIC structure remains one of the most efficient vehicles for lower middle-market lending, and Star Mountain's ability to oversubscribe Fund II speaks to strong LP appetite for yield in the smaller end of the credit spectrum.
River Associates: River Associates has completed the sale of SFG to Victor Capital Partners in a sponsor-to-sponsor transaction. River Associates targets companies with $3-12M of EBITDA in the lower middle market.
AEA Investors: AEA portfolio company Jack's, the restaurant chain, may be coming to market, per a scoop from The Middle Market. Broadly, valuation gaps and buyer focus on hot brands have stalled restaurant chain M&A activity.
Gemspring Capital: Gemspring Capital has sold Security 101, a national commercial security integration provider, to MSCP. The exit caps a hold period during which Gemspring grew the platform through organic initiatives and add-on acquisitions.
ContextLogic: ContextLogic completed its $907.5M acquisition of US Salt from Emerald Lake Capital. Financing included $292M in cash ($150M from BC Partners Credit), a $115M rights offering, and $325M in rolled equity from Abrams Capital. David Abrams joins as Chairman. ContextLogic carries $2.9B in NOL carryforwards.
Victory Capital: Victory Capital has submitted an $8.8B proposal for Janus Henderson, topping a prior $7.4B offer from Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst. Janus Henderson manages approximately $493B in assets.
Irenic Capital: Activist fund Irenic Capital has submitted an unsolicited bid for Reservoir Media, the music publisher behind catalogs from Sheryl Crow and Joni Mitchell, at close to $1.2B per Bloomberg.
Private Credit's Great Divide
Bloomberg reports the debate over risk in private credit has reached new heights. Jamie Dimon says firms are "doing dumb things" in risky lending. Mohamed El-Erian called Blue Owl's decision to halt OBDC II quarterly withdrawals a "canary in the coal mine" for the $1.8T private credit market. Danny Moses, known from The Big Short, says the retail push into private credit "rhymes" with 2008. The rhetoric is intensifying, and whether you think it is overblown or prescient, it is impossible to ignore.
Blue Owl / OBDC II
Semafor's Liz Hoffman reports Blue Owl sold $1.4B of loans at essentially face value to return 30% of money to investors in OBDC II, which had exceeded its 5% quarterly redemption limit. The fund is being discontinued. Hoffman argues the orderly resolution may actually be a positive signal for the market but warns that private credit should "rethink its romance with retail investors." If you are in the BDC space, this is required reading.
Chris Cho, promoted to Head of Investor Relations (Asia), Adams Street Partners. Cho succeeds Ben Hart and is based in Hong Kong. He has raised $2.18B from 37 Korean institutional investors since 2017. Adams Street has 169 Asian clients representing $18.9B in AUM.
Ben Hart, Head of Private Capital Advisory, APAC, Evercore. Hart joins Evercore after 10 years at Adams Street Partners, where he led Asia investor relations.
Angela Rodell and Michael Karangelen, Star Mountain Capital. Rodell, former CEO of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, joins as Senior Advisor. Karangelen, former CEO of North America at Investindustrial ($10B+ AUM), joins the Executive and Investment Committees.
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That's the wrap. More deals coming your way tomorrow.
- Private Markets Minute Team