Morning Hubsters! This is Chris, on for Wire Wednesday. Hope the week is going well. It’s the season of holiday parties and last minute deals. Anything changing out there with the deal environment, fundraising or anything? We have a special feature starting today. Today the first episode of our podcast series Private Markets and the End of Cheap Money drops, focusing on M&A. Check it out here on PE Hub. Here’s the intro: Central Banks around the world have been raising interest rates to combat inflation, making borrowing more expensive for everyone. That includes private equity firms, which for years have enjoyed historically low borrowing costs to finance leveraged buyouts. How are PE firms coping with the end of cheap money? To find out, reporters and editors across several PEI Group titles have spent the last few months speaking to dozens of PE industry participants to get their perspectives. In this first episode of our podcast series, we look at how higher interest rates are playing out in private equity transactions, and why certain areas of M&A, in particular deals in the mid market, may be facing outcomes different from what you might expect. Mary Kathleen Flynn, editor-in-chief of PEI Group title PE Hub, spoke with a wide range of dealmakers, including PE firm leaders, lenders and investment bankers, about the impact of high interest rates and other factors, such as high inflation, on PE-backed transactions. Late-breaking: Thoma Bravo is announcing this morning it’s closed its fifteenth fund on $24.3 billion, its middle-market focused fourth fund on $6.2 billion and its second small-cap Explore fund on $1.8 billion. The firm raised the fund in quick-time, bringing the pools back to market quickly after closing its previous fundraising in 2020. The firm managed to get the funds raised as the private equity fundraising market has gradually slowed, with LPs pulling back on commitment pacing amid escalating exposures and drying up distributions. Read more here on Buyouts. That’s it for me. Have a great rest of the day. Reach me with tips n’ gossip, feedback or Scotch recommendations at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com or find me on LinkedIn. Read thefull wire commentaryon PE Hub … | 