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Blackstone makes first investment in Japan’s fintech sector, MidOcean invests in Re-Sourcing Group

Morning Hubsters!

This is Chris, on for Wire Wednesday.

What’s going on out there? A quick reminder that Friday is the deadline for your rockstar women dealmakers in private equity nominations. Send nominations to me and/or questions at christopher.w@pei.group.

Here's the news line-up for today:

- Blackstone makes its first investment in Japan’s fintech sector 

- MidOcean invests in Re-Sourcing Group

- Allied Industrial Partners moving from deal-by-deal to its debut fund

First time

Blackstone Group is making its first investment in Japan’s fintech sector, with its acquisition of a majority stake in Sony Payment Services from Sony Bank, writes Obey Martin Manayiti on PE Hub.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to learn all about the strategy.

Recruiting

MidOcean Partners made a significant investment in the Re-Sourcing Group. Read more here on PE Hub.

Funded

Independent sponsor Allied Industrial Partners, formed in 2019, has hit the market with its debut fund. Check out this story and our extensive database of new managers here.

Awards

It’s that time again! We’ve opened our annual Deal of the Year awards for the best exits of 2023. Deadline is Friday, Feb. 16.

Winners are chosen in seven categories: Deal of the Year, Large-Market Deal of the Year, Middle Market Deal of the Year, Small Market Deal of the Year, Turnaround of the Year, International Deal of the Year and Secondaries Deal of the Year.

Visit here for contest rules and other information, including lists of past winners. And hit me up with questions at christopher.w@pei.group (but please read the rules PDF that can be downloaded, which should answer most of your questions).

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

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Correction: In yesterday's Wire, we said that Inceptua includes 340B among its services. We should have said that its distribution services include access (also known as expanded access, compassionate use, named patient supply) to allow patients to use medicines prior to them being commercially available.

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

LionRock to ‘take the leash off’ Haglöfs with collaborations among plans. 'The cool thing about collaborations is that they don’t have to be right on point,' says Tom Pitts, head of Europe for LionRock. (PE Hub Europe)

‘LP-driven consolidation’ quickens as General Atlantic buys Actis. Actis chairman Torbjorn Caesar and head of investor solutions Neda Vakilian walks Infrastructure Investor through the rationale for the deal.

StepStone: APAC’s ‘underappreciated’ markets will benefit from LP rebalancing. Private Equity International caught up with StepStone CEO Scott Hart and partners Vincent Hsu and Adam Johnston to discuss the firm’s decision to open a Singapore office this week.

African LPs lead infra fund to $222.5m first close: Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund receives commitments from the Angola sovereign wealth fund, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and West African Development Bank, according to fund head Vincent Le Guennou. (New Private Markets)

Fortunes diverge in aquaculture in H1 2024: Rabobank’slatest half-yearly outlook for global aquaculture shows that salmon producers have much to look forward to, while the outlook for shrimp farmers is more challenging. (Agri Investor)

SEC hammers mid-market firm on MNPI: 'Scary' case should worry small- and midsized managers, expert says. (Private Funds CFO)

The problem with picking vintages: There’s a big opportunity cost to vintage timing and diversification, according to a new paper – posing a challenge to traditional thinking on the subject. (Private Debt Investor)