Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with the Wire. Cross-border. Yesterday, Apollo announced it is committing up to €1 billion ($1.04 billion) of managed capital in exchange for a minority equity interest in Sofinnova Partners, a European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan. The deal represents a growing trend of growth-stage private equity firms tapping early-stage venture capital firms to get a leg up in life sciences. Founded in 1972, Sofinnova has backed more than 500 companies. Recent investments include: NanoPhoria, which is developing a non-viral drug delivery platform based on inorganic nanoparticles; Nephris, which is developing novel therapies for diabetic kidney disease; and GFBiochemicals, a sustainable chemical company. For Sofinnova, the partnership represents a chance to accelerate growth. For Apollo, the investment “will meaningfully increase its presence in life sciences and contribute to its growth ecosystem of partners that bring specialized knowledge and networks to its integrated platform,” according to the deal announcement. For more, see the story from our affiliate pub Venture Capital Journal. PE Hub and VCJ are both intrigued by these PE-VC partnerships. We’d love to hear more about them. If you’ve got something to share on these, please email VCJ’s Lawrence Aragon at laragon@buyoutsinsider.com and me at mk.flynn@peimedia.com Mitigation banks. Vision Ridge Partners said this morning that it has exited a set of three wetland mitigation banking assets managed by The Earth Partners, an ecological restoration company. PE Hub’s Obey Martin Manayiti discussed the deal with Reuben Munger, who founded Vision Ridge in 2008. The firm aims to deliver superior financial returns and positive environmental impact through investments in sustainable real assets. Vision Ridge invested in TEP in 2016, and the firms have restored and preserved over 2,000 acres of wetland and 60,000 linear feet of stream waters since then. The portfolio includes Gulf Coastal Plains, Houston Conroe and Tarkington Bayou, all in the Galveston Bay region of Texas. For more, read the whole story. Hard assets. Look for more transportation deals coming from Onex. The PE firm is broadening its focus, including launching a debut transportation offering led by a former portfolio executive, Buyouts’ Kirk Falconer reports. Founded in 1984 by CEO Gerry Schwartz, Onex has considerable experience in the transportation industry. Its active portfolio investments include BBAM, a leased aircraft manager acquired in 2012, and WestJet, a low-cost airline carrier acquired in 2019. WestJet recently acquired Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. Onex’s transportation platform will be run by Wes Dick, a former BBAM senior vice president. For more on Onex, read the full story. That’s all for now. Until tomorrow, MK Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 