Happy Monday, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with the Wire. Today, we’re taking a Deep Dive into enterprise software, which saw a slew of deal announcements in Q1. To find out what’s driving deals in the sector, PE Hub’s Obey Martin Manayiti spoke with many sources, including dealmakers at Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners and with investment bankers at William Blair. We’ve also got an update on PE folks who left Credit Suisse and a look at the wave of PE firms opening up new offices in London to strengthen their presence in Europe. But first, let’s look at some pharmaceutical deal news that broke over the weekend. Sustainable innovation On Sunday, Merck said it will buy Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8 billion. 'Private equity will always love software' While overall M&A slowed in the first quarter of the year, it sped up in the enterprise software sector. For example, In March, when the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank dominated headlines, Silver Lake and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced they will buy customer experience management software developer Qualtrics for $12.5 billion. “Private equity will always love software,” Pete Dalrymple, managing director and co-head of technology investment banking at William Blair, told Obey. For more insights, read Obey’s feature. People moves Michael Murphy, the former co-head of Credit Suisse’s private capital advisory group who left recently, will lead investor relations in a newly created role with London mid-market shop CapVest, sources told Buyouts’ Chris Witkowsky. London calling Apollo Global Management has announced the opening of a new office in London to strengthen its presence in Europe, as PE Hub Europe’s Irien Joseph reports. For more on private equity firms expanding in London, check out Nina Lindholm’s recent listicle. Speaking of the PE Hub Europe team, editor Craig McGlashan will write tomorrow’s Wire. On Wednesday, Buyouts’ Chris Witkowsky will write the Wire as usual. Investor relations Also on Wednesday, I’ll be conducting a Fireside Keynote Chat with Arielle Gross Samuels, managing director, global head of marketing for Blackstone, at PEI Group’s 18th annual Investor Relations, Marketing & Communications New York Forum. (Note: PEI is the owner of PE Hub.) Before joining Blackstone, Samuels worked at Meta (Facebook), serving as the global head of ESG business and previously business lead of global business marketing. Prior to Meta, Samuels worked at Deloitte in engineering consulting. I’m looking forward to hearing her thoughts on the new Build with Blackstone campaign – and how it exemplifies “future-proof marketing.” Cheers, MK Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 