Blackstone agrees to invest up to $750m in Moderna’s flu progra m; Wellspring closing nearly $1 bn multi-asset continuation fund

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Blackstone agrees to invest up to $750m in Moderna’s flu program; Wellspring closing nearly $1bn multi-asset continuation fund

Morning Hubs!

Hope all is well with you and yours. We’re still trying to pull out of stubborn winter here in the northeast. I’m just starting to gear up to work on our upcoming emerging manager project that runs in June – if you have thoughts on great new PE shops or have thoughts on the landscape for emerging firms, hit me up at christopher.w@ pei.group.

• SKKY Partners' David Brisske talks about joining the firm, its first deal

• Blackstone Life Sciences agrees to fund up to $750m in Moderna's flu program

• Wellspring to close nearly $1bn multi-asset continuation fund

Flu

Blackstone agreed to provide up to $750 million to finance Moderna’s influenza program. Blackstone is funding the deal through its life sciences program.

Upgrade to the full version of the Wire to read more.

Consumer

PE Hub sat down with David Brisske, a managing director with new shop SKKY Partners formed by Kim Kardashian and ex-Carlyle Group consumer chief Jay Sammons. Brisske talked about his backstory and how he came to find himself working for a firm led by a guy he once competed with.

Read a snippet from the interview at the premium version of the Wire.

Big one

Wellspring Capital is closing a nearly $1 billion multi-asset continuation fund deal that will extend its hold over three companies from the firm’s sixth fund, Buyouts reported. The deal, expected to close today, is being co-led by Neuberger Berman and Lexington Partners, with a syndicate of smaller investors including Hamilton Lane, AltamarCAM Partners, some Fund VI LPs and a commitment from the GP. Campbell Lutyens worked as secondaries adviser on the deal. Read the full story here on Buyouts.

That’s it for me! Have a great rest of your Wednesday. Hit me up with your juicy tips n’ gossip at christopher.w@pei.group or find me on LinkedIn.

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Australian infrastructure and real assets manager Palisade Investment Partners is set to launch its first North America-focused fund with a target between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, Infrastructure Investor understands.

Neda Vakilian wanted to go into private equity before she even really knew what it meant. Now a managing director and the global head of investor solutions group at Actis, she told PE Hub Europe how she transitioned from being a lawyer to working in infrastructure as part of our series of interviews featuring senior women in private equity.

Bain Capital Tech Opportunities will look to countries with similar characteristics to the UK mortgage market to expand the reach of a pair of mortgage software companies, James Stevens, managing director, told PE Hub Europe.

Cortec Group closed an eighth buyout offering (Cortec Group Fund VIII at an oversubscribed $3.2 billion) in an environment at odds with the firm’s tradition of quick, one-and-done fundraisings. (Buyouts)

While DPI is a validator, it shouldn’t be looked at as a measure of performance, particularly in isolation, Allen Waldrop, director of private equity at Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, told Private Equity International senior reporter Madeleine Farman on the sidelines of PEI Group’s NEXUS 2024 summit in March.

Specialist farm credit provider Mad Capital has launched the second iteration of its fund aimed at farmers transitioning from conventional to regenerative organic farming. (Agri Investor)

Barings has been granted an injunction against Corinthia Global Management and several former employees to prevent them using confidential information. (Private Debt Investor)

With a plethora of opportunities available to it in the secondaries market, Partners Group is targeting $10 billion-$12 billion for its latest secondaries program. (Secondaries Investor)

Vidrio and AW survey: Investors’ appetite undeterred by denominator effect. (Private Debt Investor)

They said it

“Kim obviously has her finger on the pulse of what’s culturally relevant and she’s got a clear point of view on the growth potential of brands.”

— David Brisske, managing director at SKKY Partners, talks about working with Kim Kardashian.