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Foresight eyes energy transition opportunities; Lightyear Capital backs workforce mental health

Happy Monday, Hubsters! MK Flynn here with the Wire.

Underscoring the significance of AI and the soaring demand for data centers, earlier this morning AMD announced a huge $5 billion acquisition of privately-held ZT Systems, a Secaucus, New Jersey-based provider of AI infrastructure.

Data centers have been driving a lot of private equity deals this year. Earlier in August, PE Hub’s Rafael Canton rounded up seven recent deals.  And Venture Capital Journal’s David Bogoslaw is taking an in-depth look at data centers in a five-part series.

PE Hub’s H2 Outlook series continues today with a look at the wide array of opportunities in the energy transition. Reporter Nina Lindholm interviewed Richard Thompson, a partner at Foresight Group, on the hot topic.

We’ve also got a Deep Dive about a recent mental health deal from Lightyear Capital, written by PE Hub’s John R Fischer.

Last but not least, I’ve got some exciting news of our own to share with you about PE Hub’s expanding coverage!

Removing bottlenecks

Foresight Group sees opportunities across the energy transition, especially in storage and grid, boosted by policy tailwinds, Richard Thompson, partner, told PE Hub’s Nina Lindholm in the latest of our H2 Outlook pieces.

Upgrade to the premium version to read the story.

PE Hub is running H2 Outlook pieces with senior private equity dealmakers throughout August. The previous instalment was with Juergen Pinker, a senior managing director at Blackstone.

Better outcomes

Earlier in August, Lightyear Capital announced an investment in CuraLinc Healthcare, a provider of workforce mental health programs. Over the years, Lightyear has invested in several companies involved in mental health services and has realized exits in the sector. To learn more about CuraLinc and the rising demand for mental health services aimed at employees and students, PE Hub’s John R Fischer spoke with Lightyear managing directors Michael Langer and Michal Petrzela.

Premium subscribers may read all about the deal.

PE Hub to expand

We’re thrilled to announce that PE Hub is expanding its deals coverage to Europe! This expansion allows us to provide you with a richer, more comprehensive view of the private equity deals landscape, helping you stay ahead of the curve in both regions. PE Hub’s new European deals coverage will begin in early September. Stay tuned for more details!

On that happy note, I’ll sign off. I’ll be on vacation next week, so, as the song says, “I’ll see you in September!”

Craig McGlashan, PE Hub’s Europe editor, will bring you tomorrow’s Wire and will fill in for me next Monday.

Happy dealmaking,

MK

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

BlackRock seeks around $5bn for second long-hold fund: The target amount sought for Long Term Private Capital II could change, Private Equity International understands.

For Apollo and TPG, bullish vintage investing paves the way for new flagship launches: TPG Partners X is expected to roll out in the first half of 2025, while Apollo Investment Fund XI is expected to debut by the end of next year. (Buyouts)

HarbourVest secures third-largest secondaries fund ever raised with $15.1bn haul: Combining Dover Street XI and its co-investment vehicle Secondary Overflow Fund V, the manager has raised $18.5bn to deploy into secondaries transactions. (Secondaries)

BlackRock hits $1.3bn first close on new debt fund – exclusive. Global Infrastructure Debt Fund II is targeting $2.5bn and is the firm’s second high-yield infrastructure credit vehicle. (Infrastructure Investor)

Roc Partners JV targets A$250m for carbon credit fund: Silva Capital, a Roc Partners-C6 joint venture, seeks to deliver carbon credits through the reforestation of farmland while maintaining agricultural productivity. (Agri Investor)

They said it

“We’re still in the throes of many consumer businesses dealing with the impacts of the cost of living, inflationary pressure and some legacy supply chain disruption. All that has meant that buyers have been more cautious about consumer assets and sellers launch processes only if they’re certain that they’re going to get a good reception.”

— Nigel Walder, partner, Bain Capital, in our H2 Outlook series