| Morning all, Craig McGlashan here with the opening Europe Wire of the week from the London newsroom. And what a start it is – deals are coming thick and fast this morning. First though we take a deep dive into Alantra’s plans for SPW Fabrics, as we speak to managing director Fernando Ortega and principal Cristiano Bartolini. I then look for comment on how a recent European ruling on the soccer transfer market could impact private equity’s interest in the sector – send your thoughts to craig.m@pei.group Switching to energy, we’ve got F2i and Finavias, a corporate vehicle owned by APG Asset Management and Ardian, signing an agreement to sell natural gas distributor 2i Rete Gas. Meanwhile, 3i Infrastructure has received a binding offer for a stake in Valorem, an independent European renewable energy developer and power producer, from AIP Management and co-investors. We then look at data, with Oakley Capital investing in Assured Data Protection. Then there are more signs that the European GP stakes market is growing, with Armen announcing another deal. Finally, we’ve got a deal in the UK pub sector involving Epiris. Going global Alantra is looking at several add-ons to make Barcelona-based family business SPW Fabrics a European-wide enterprise, managing director Fernando Ortega and principal Cristiano Bartolini told PE Hub’s Sophie Rose. Find out more about the plans in the premium version of the Wire. Transfer deadline? Speaking of potential pivots away from sport, I’d love to get readers’ comments about what a recent ruling on the soccer transfer system could mean for European clubs – which private equity firms have been pouring money into over the last few years. Read more in the premium version of the Wire and send your thoughts to craig.m@pei.group Big energy The energy sector is busy this morning, with a couple of announced deals. F2i and Finavias, a corporate vehicle owned by APG Asset Management and Ardian, have signed an agreement to sell 2i Rete Gas, an Italian natural gas distribution operator, to Italgas. Meanwhile, 3i Infrastructure has received a binding offer for a roughly 33 percent stake in Valorem, an independent European renewable energy developer and power producer, from AIP Management and co-investors. More details on both deals, including equity value and net proceeds, in the premium version of the Wire. For more on the energy sector, check out Sophie Rose’s listicle of solar energy deals from Friday. Recovery Data has been a big feature of the private equity dealmaking landscape this year, whether it’s data centers or data protection via cybersecurity. But what do you do if the worst happens and your data center goes down or you’re the subject of a big cyberattack? Step in data backup and disaster recovery. Oakley Capital is investing in Assured Data Protection, a company that operates in that area, with Soho Square Capital exiting. Upping the GP stakes The GP stakes business in Europe is picking up, with Armen announcing another deal. The firm has made a minority investment in Signal Capital Partners, a private asset management firm focused on private credit services for European corporate and real estate mid-market assets. Armen’s CEO Laurent Benard and deputy CEO and COO Renaud Tourmente told us back in January that they expected the sector to pick up in Europe this year – albeit with some more work to be done compared to the US. Last orders Finally, Epiris has agreed to buy pub operator Amber Taverns. That’s all from me today. Michael Schoeck will bring the US Wire later today as MK Flynn is on holiday, then I'll open things tomorrow with the Europe Wire as Nina Lindholm is also on holiday. Cheers, Craig Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 