Private Markets Wire

Investcorp has closed its second North American private equity fund at $1.22 billion, beating its original $1.1 billion target as investors continue to back private-market strategies focused on established middle-market businesses. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— The new fund, NAPE Fund II, will target investments in North American companies operating across business and professional services and commercial services, with a focus on businesses where Investcorp sees opportunities to support growth. The close adds another sizeable pool of capital to Investcorp’s North American private equity platform and comes as managers compete for institutional investor commitments amid a more selective fundraising environment. Source: Reuters, Investcorp

European private credit firm Hayfin Capital Management LLP has opened a new office in Seoul, expanding its presence in Asia and strengthening its relationships with Korean institutional investors. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— The move comes after Samsung Life took a strategic stake in Hayfin alongside other investors. Hayfin said the Seoul office will help it work more closely with Korean investors and support its growing business in the region. The new office is located at Three IFC in Yeouido and will be led by Choi Si-jin, as Hayfin looks to build its Korea team and expand its private credit platform. Source: The Korea Herald, The Korea Times, Hayfin Capital Management

EQT Group has agreed to exit Acuon Group, a South Korean independent financial services platform, by selling the business to a consortium led by Hanwha Life and Centroid PE. The transaction marks EQT’s planned exit from the financial services provider. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— Acuon Group operates in South Korea’s financial services market, with lending and consumer finance activities. The acquisition will bring Hanwha Life, the South Korean insurer, and private equity firm Centroid PE together in the consortium acquiring the platform. The deal adds to Hanwha Life’s investment activity in financial services and gives the consortium ownership of an established Korean finance business. Financial terms and the expected closing timeline should be confirmed against the transaction announcement. Source: EQT official announcement; DealStreetAsia

Audax Private Debt has closed its third Direct Lending Solutions Fund (DLS Fund III), securing $5.4 billion in investor commitments and giving the vehicle around $10 billion in total investable capital including leverage and related accounts. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— The fund surpassed its initial $4 billion target, making it the largest fund in Audax Private Debt’s history. The strategy focuses on providing financing to middle-market companies, with capital available for direct lending opportunities. The latest raise highlights continued institutional demand for private credit strategies, particularly those targeting established middle-market borrowers. Source: Alternatives Watch, Audax Private Debt

H.I.G. Capital has acquired Torque, a UK-based provider of end-to-end supply chain, warehousing and omnichannel fulfilment services. The deal gives the private investment firm exposure to a business that helps companies manage storage, distribution and order fulfilment. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— Torque supports businesses across their supply chains, including warehousing and fulfilment for different sales channels. Its services are designed to help companies manage logistics and meet customer demand across online and other retail channels. The acquisition comes as businesses continue to focus on efficient logistics and flexible fulfilment operations. H.I.G. Capital’s investment provides an opportunity to support Torque’s next phase of development in the UK supply chain and logistics market. Source: H.I.G. Capital; Business Sale Report; Business Quarter.

KKR is taking a majority stake in Cisternina Logistics as the global investment firm backs plans to build a pan-India platform for liquid storage and logistics. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— Cisternina plans to acquire Ganesh Benzoplast’s liquid-storage terminal and rail business, adding significant storage infrastructure to the platform. The deal is expected to strengthen Cisternina’s presence across India’s growing liquid-storage and logistics market. The investment is part of KKR’s broader push into Indian infrastructure, with the firm targeting businesses linked to essential assets and long-term demand. Cisternina aims to expand its footprint across key Indian markets through further investments and acquisitions. Source: Reuters, VCCircle, Mint, DealStreetAsia, KKR

Pantheon is expanding its presence in the Middle East with a new office in Abu Dhabi, strengthening its reach in a region attracting growing interest from global private markets investors. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— The firm has appointed Firas Mallah as Managing Director and Head of Middle East. He will be based in Abu Dhabi and lead Pantheon's regional activities as it deepens relationships with investors across the region. The move reflects Pantheon's continued focus on expanding its global presence and building closer ties with Middle Eastern investors seeking access to private equity, private credit, infrastructure and other private market strategies. Source: Pantheon (official announcement)

CPP Investments Bets C$441 Million on India’s Hotel Sector with 27% Stake in Prestige Hospitality Ventures CPP Investments | Investissements RPC (CPP Investments) is investing C$441 million (around ₹3,000 crore) in Prestige Hospitality Ventures, acquiring an approximately 27% stake in the Indian hotel platform. The deal marks CPP Investments’ first direct investment in India’s hotel sector. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— Prestige Hospitality Ventures is part of India’s Prestige Group, a real estate developer expanding its hospitality business. The investment gives CPP Investments exposure to India’s hotel market as the country’s travel and tourism sector continues to attract institutional capital. The transaction highlights growing international investor interest in India’s hospitality and real estate sectors, with global investment firms seeking opportunities beyond traditional office and residential properties. Source: The Economic Times, Moneycontrol, CPP Investments / Canada Newswire

Bain Capital is investing in Kahua, an AI-powered construction technology company, at a valuation of more than $1 billion. The investment comes through Bain Capital’s Tech Opportunities team and gives the firm a minority stake in Kahua. ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— Kahua provides software designed to help companies manage large and complex construction and infrastructure projects. The new capital will support further investment in AI, product development, sales, customer support and hiring as the company looks to expand. The deal highlights continued private-market interest in construction technology and AI-enabled software, with Bain backing Kahua’s next phase of growth. Kahua announced the transaction on September 29, while Bloomberg also reported the investment and valuation. Source: Bloomberg, Kahua / PR Newswire

KKR Formed Helix Digital Infrastructure Secures $1bn Commitment from Samsung for AI Infrastructure Expansion ————————————————————————— Get the week’s most important insights, intelligence, deals, and trends across Private Markets, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gARkcSxN ————————————————————————— Samsung and its affiliates have committed $1 billion to Helix Digital Infrastructure, the AI infrastructure company formed by KKR, as demand for computing power and data centres continues to grow. The investment will support Helix’s plans to expand infrastructure designed to meet the needs of artificial intelligence. The commitment brings together Samsung businesses with expertise across semiconductors, electronics, construction, engineering, cooling and energy-related technologies. Their involvement could create opportunities to combine Samsung’s industrial capabilities with Helix’s data centre development and investment platform. For KKR, the investment represents another step in building out its AI infrastructure strategy through Helix. As AI adoption accelerates, investors are increasingly targeting the physical infrastructure behind it, including data centres, power supply and advanced cooling systems. Source: Reuters, Bloomberg, Samsung Global Newsroom