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Leonard Green & Partners takes top honors in PE Hub’s Deal of the Year Awards; Permira, Atlas Holdings, One Equity Partners, Montage Partners and Ardian also win

Good morning, Hubsters. Senior reporter Michael Schoeck here with the US edition of the Wire from the New York newsroom, filling in for Obey Martin Manayiti for a while.

It’s that magical week where Deal of the Year Awards have gone out and the PE Hub team is gearing up for NEXUS 2025 next week.

On the Wire today we’re highlighting the Mid-Cap Deal of the Year, which went to Atlas Holdings for its exit of a printed labels business used in mass-market establishments.

Next we have an ‘Inside the Exit’ article from Rafael Canton on Apollo Global Management’s exit of a regional US airline.

Also up today we have a deal involving Warburg Pincus’ exit of a heavy industrials company that PE Hub scooped was coming up for sale.

And finally, we hear insights on the current slowdown in dealmaking from Michael Mufson, managing partner at Mufson Howe Hunter.

Paper trail

Ever since the invention of the personal computer heralded talk of the ‘paperless office,’ breakthroughs in technology – from e-books to contactless payments – have sparked claims that the writing was on the wall for the printed word.

Atlas Holdings, however, was reading from a different script. Its bet on a printer label and receipts paper business in 2016 paid off in 2024 as it sold both parts of Iconex, earning PE Hub’s Mid-Cap North America Award Deal of the Year Award for its contrarian – and prescient – decision.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to read the full story.

Flying your way

Now that Apollo has fully exited Sun Country Airlines, it’s a good moment to take a look at what role the PE firm played in the company’s growth.

PE Hub caught up with Antoine Munfakh, partner and head of private equity – North America at Apollo, to chat about the strategies that helped Apollo grow the Minneapolis-based airline.

Upgrade to the premium edition of the Wire to read the story.

Back in strategic hands

Warburg Pincus has agreed to sell Sundyne to Honeywell in a $2.16 billion transaction.

PE Hub was first to report on Sundyne coming to the market back in August.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to read the announcement and company for sale story.

The uncertainty factor

We’ve seen the slowest start for M&A to a new year in more than a decade, despite optimism heading into 2025. How long will the pause last, and how will it affect the dealmaking outlook for the year?

PE Hub editor-in-chief MK Flynn asked Michael Mufson, managing partner at investment bank Mufson Howe Hunter, for his take.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to read the interview.

Care to weigh in? Share your thoughts with MK at mk.flynn@pei.group

That’s a wrap for me. Keep an eye out for the Europe edition of the Wire tomorrow from Craig McGlashan and the US edition from Rafael Canton.

Cheers,

Michael

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

CVC collects €4.6bn to hold assets for up to 15 years. The firm's latest long-hold fund, Strategic Opportunities III, will back as many as a dozen deals, managing partner Lorne Somerville tells Private Equity International

Data centers raise growing concerns from industry executives. The ‘hype’ around the sector has led some executives to take a more cautious stance, members heard at the PERE Network Asia Summit last week. (PERE)

Leading GPs draw clear link between ESG and the bottom line. Winners in the ESG categories of the New Private Markets Global Awards point to numerous instances of sustainability being a lever for value creation. But some areas will always be difficult to quantify. (New Private Markets)

CAA and AXA IM exit majority stake in France’s A-63 toll road. Last year, the road generated €170m in revenue and had EBITDA of €134m. (Infrastructure Deals)

MassPRIM sets PE pacing for 2025, preps for VC push. The pension fund will give a bump to its private equity pacing from last year and aim to build out its venture capital portfolio. (Buyouts)

Deals

They said it

“We thought there was a gap in the market to create a low-cost carrier that had a better consumer product versus existing competitors. If we could transform Sun Country into a low-cost carrier, we could help fill some of that gap and turbocharge growth.”

— Antoine Munfakh, partner and head of private equity – North America, Apollo Global Management

Today's letter was prepared by MK Flynn

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