Morning, Sophie Rose here, covering for Craig McGlashan on the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.
The focus is on exits this morning. Last week, EQT announced that it had agreed to sell a consumer health business Karo. I caught up with EQT partner Erika Henriksson and Jefferies’ Tariq Hussain to learn more about the exit that was announced hours after the widespread tariffs on imported goods went into effect.
Sticking with exits, PE Hub reported on a couple yesterday. Bain Capital has agreed to sell an insurer, while Mérieux Equity Partners is set to part ways with a rare disease platform. We’ll delve into these deals next.
While deal announcements remain slow, we continue to see plenty of activity on the people side. The past week has seen Mérieux name a new partner and Warburg Pincus appoint a senior advisor, just to name a couple. Keep on reading to see who else is picking new advisers and executives.
Appropriate risk
Private equity is known for flexibility, but the fluid tariff situation in the US has hit the market with more uncertainty than usual. One European PE firm pushing through a sale amid the turmoil is EQT, which recently announced it is selling Karo Healthcare to KKR. EQT partner Erika Henriksson walked PE Hub through the pending sale.
Check out the full piece to learn how EQT grew Karo during the five-year hold period and what Jefferies' Hussain said about the sale.
Premium subscribers of the Wire can also learn more about the exit.
For more on how dealmakers are handling tariff volatility on ongoing deal processes, see this special report from our editorial teams at Buyouts, PE Hub and Private Equity International.
Exits ahead
Let’s stick with our opening theme of exits. Yesterday, Bain Capital and Mérieux Equity Partners announced sales.
Bain announced it has agreed tosell Esure to Ageas.
Meanwhile, Mérieux has agreed to sell Theravia. Theravia is a rare disease pharma platform, formed through the merger of Addmedica and CTRS.
For more on the deals, including the size of the Esure sale, take a look at the premium Wire coverage.
On the move
Dealmaking has had a sluggish start to the year, including the slowest start for US dealmaking in more than a decade, according to data PE Hub analyzed from multiple providers. This has not stopped PE firms from appointing new staff.
Here are people moves PE Hub has covered from Europe and the US over the past week:
That’s all from me today. Rafael Canton is on the US Wire later today, and Nina Lindholm has her usual Europe slot tomorrow.
Best wishes,
Sophie
Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...
