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The winter storm that walloped the Eastern half of the United States did nothing to slow down the flow of major deal announcements today.
Let’s get into it.
Today's Report
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Major Investments & Infrastructure Deals
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners
Arlington Industries Acquisition
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners entered a definitive agreement to acquire Arlington Industries, a leading designer and manufacturer of electrical products in the U.S. Founded in 1949, Arlington makes fittings, enclosures, and components used across commercial, industrial, and data center facilities. With electrification trends accelerating, this fits squarely into Blackstone's high-conviction thesis on grid infrastructure. Terms undisclosed, expected to close Q1 2026.
USA Rare Earth
$1.6B CHIPS Act + $1.5B PIPE
USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) announced a non-binding LOI with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $1.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding—$277 million in federal grants plus a $1.3 billion senior secured loan. Concurrently, the company raised a $1.5 billion PIPE led by Inflection Point. The capital will accelerate USAR's mine-to-magnet platform, targeting 40,000 metric tons per day of rare earth feedstock from its Round Top deposit by 2030. This is a massive bet on domestic critical mineral supply chains for semiconductors, defense, and energy.
Standard Nuclear
$140M Series A
Standard Nuclear raised $140 million in Series A funding led by Decisive Point, with participation from Chevron Technology Ventures, StepStone Group, XTX Ventures, and existing investors including Washington Harbour Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. The company is a reactor-agnostic producer of TRISO nuclear fuel and recently became the first to receive DOE authorization and physically receive HALEU for advanced fuel production. The new capital will expand annual TRISO production to over two metric tons by mid-2026.
Fundraising Announcements
New State Capital Partners
Forge Select Launch
New State Capital Partners launched Forge Select, a dedicated non-control investment strategy focused on partnering with independent sponsors. The firm hired Sanjay Gupta as Senior Principal to lead the team, alongside John McGonigle as Vice President. Sanjay brings 20+ years of private markets experience from Moonfare (as CIO), UBP, CDPQ, and Adveq. Forge Select builds on New State's decade-long presence in the independent sponsor market, where it has completed six transactions to date.
Varde Partners
€45M Everphone Financing
Varde Partners provided €45 million in mezzanine financing to Everphone, a Berlin-based B2B device rental provider offering Device-as-a-Service for PCs, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. The financing refinances existing mezzanine debt and funds a portfolio of rental contracts as Everphone scales its sustainable business model. Varde was advised by A&O Shearman.
Varde Partners
$54M Edmond Curtis Park Refinancing
Varde Partners closed a $54 million bridge loan to refinance Edmond Curtis Park, a newly developed 185-unit Class A apartment building in Denver's Curtis Park neighborhood. The floating-rate loan, arranged by JLL, has a three-year initial term with two one-year extension options. The property was completed in May 2025 by a joint venture between Corum Real Estate Group, Geolo Capital, and Prado Group.
Wingspire Capital
$40M Digital Marketing Financing
Wingspire Capital provided a $40 million commitment to a leading digital marketing firm that helps companies amplify search and lead generation efforts across Google, Meta, and other platforms used by SMBs. The borrower provides strategic digital marketing, advertising, and SEO services.
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M&A Transactions & Deals
Kohlberg sells ENTRUST Solutions to Leidos for $2.4B – Kohlberg entered a definitive agreement to sell ENTRUST Solutions Group to Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) for approximately $2.4 billion. ENTRUST is a leading consulting and engineering services platform serving utility and infrastructure end markets with over 3,000 professionals across 40 North American locations. Kohlberg initially acquired the company in 2019 and completed a minority recapitalization in 2023. Under Kohlberg's ownership, ENTRUST markedly expanded its geographic reach, service capabilities, and customer base.
KPS Capital acquires controlling stake in Novacel – KPS Capital Partners entered a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Novacel (Chargeurs Films de Protection SAS) from Compagnie Chargeurs Invest SA (ENXTPA:CRI). Chargeurs will retain a 25% ownership interest and invest alongside KPS. Novacel is a leading global manufacturer of surface protection solutions across building, industrial, appliances, and transportation end-markets, with ~700 employees and six manufacturing facilities across France, Italy, and the U.S.
JLL Partners acquires PowerParts Group – JLL Partners acquired PowerParts Group, a provider of mission-critical replacement parts and field services for gas and steam power turbines. PPG supplies highly engineered aftermarket components to utilities, MRO service providers, and turbine OEMs. The company operates through STAR Turbine and Thor Precision. This investment builds on JLL's experience sponsoring growth for highly engineered component suppliers and will serve as the base of a new power generation components platform.
Audax Strategic Capital invests in Strickland Brothers – Audax Strategic Capital announced a structured equity investment in Strickland Brothers, a national operator and franchisor of drive-thru, 10-minute oil change and automotive-maintenance service centers. Strickland is a portfolio company of Princeton Equity Group, which backed founder and CEO Justin Strickland in 2021. Since then, the company has grown from a regional operator to a national player with nearly 300 locations across 27 states as of January 2026. The investment from Audax's debut fund (~$1.3 billion) will help fund actionable M&A opportunities.
Southfield Capital acquires Contextual.io – Southfield Capital acquired Contextual.io, an AI orchestration platform that provides practical AI-driven value creation solutions to businesses across sectors. Founded and led by CEO Andrew Brooks (the team that developed SmartThings through its acquisition by Samsung.) Contextual's capabilities will be fully embedded into Southfield's partnership model to drive value transformation for founders and manager-owned businesses in the lower middle market.
Regulatory & Industry Developments
SEC releases 2026 examination priorities. The SEC released its 2026 examination priorities for investment advisers, signaling continued scrutiny on private fund advisers, compliance programs, and ESG-related disclosures. The priorities emphasize fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest, and fee and expense allocations—areas that have been hot-button issues for PE and VC managers.
European Commission opens VC consultation. The European Commission opened a consultation on reforming the EU's venture capital and growth capital funds framework, seeking input on how to improve access to capital for startups and scale-ups. The consultation runs through early 2026 and could lead to regulatory changes aimed at unlocking more institutional capital for European VC.
U.S. House passes INVEST Act. The U.S. House passed the INVEST Act, a bipartisan capital formation package designed to streamline access to capital markets for emerging growth companies. The legislation includes provisions to modernize securities regulations and reduce compliance burdens for smaller issuers, which could have downstream effects on PE and VC exit strategies.
People Moves
Rallyday Partners – Austin Hough joined as Senior Vice President. Austin brings PE and growth equity experience from Endeavour Capital and The Inception Companies.
Advent International – Arturo Cruz joined as Director, Fund Counsel, based in Boston. Arturo spent six years at Goodwin Procter focusing on private fund formation and operations.
Gallant Capital Partners – Josh Carter joined as Managing Director to lead technology investments. Previously a Partner at Harvest Partners leading software deals. The firm promoted also promoted Jamie Kim to MD, Head of Business Development; Matt Pareti to MD, Operations; and Dan Johnson to Principal.
New State Capital Partners – Sanjay Gupta joined as Senior Principal to lead Forge Select, the firm's new non-control strategy for independent sponsors. 20+ years of experience from Moonfare (CIO), UBP, CDPQ, and Adveq. John McGonigle joined as VP from Gatewood Capital Partners.
Upcoming Events
That's the wrap. More deals coming your way tomorrow.
- Private Markets Minute Team