Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here in New York with the US edition of the Wire.
Welcome to a special edition of the Wire, in which I’m showcasing PE Hub’s editorial staff members, our beats and our recent coverage.
Meet the team
The PE Hub team includes two editors and eight reporters. Six of us are based out of PEI Group’s New York headquarters, and four out of our London headquarters. Each reporter specializes in PE deals in particular sectors.
Mary Kathleen (MK) Flynn, editor-in-chief (New York): mk.flynn@pei.group
I manage the team and edit most of the stories that originate out of the New York office. Those activities take a lot of my time, but I also conduct interviews with high-profile thought leaders – often on stage and/or on camera at PEI Group events. Last week, I spoke with Nicole Musicco, whose held positions at GPs and LPs, most recently CalPERS. She’s currently launching an opportunistic credit fund at Square Nine Capital. We spoke at PEI Group’s Women in Private Markets Summit North America about a range of topics, includingthe evolving dynamics in the relationship between GPs and LPs – and the role evergreen funds are playing. “GPs really have to embrace this relationship element,” she said. “It can’t just be selling products anymore.”
Craig McGlashan, editor, Europe (London): craig.m@pei.group
Craig manages the London-based team and edits our coverage of PE deals with European targets. Craig spends a lot of time with high-profile dealmakers in Europe, including PE pros and investment bankers. He recently wrote about how PE firms are using earnouts to structure acquisitions in Europe amid uncertainty over the impact of US tariffs, while some portfolio companies in the continent adjust their sales pitches as they pivot to different markets. Craig spoke with Allan Bertie, head of European investment banking at Raymond James. “We’ve seen discussions in some transactions where the buyer says, ‘If the tariffs as announced remain, this is the price. If they soften, we’ll give you an earnout based on the original assumptions.’ A seller doesn’t really want that. They just want to get the full price today. So people are structuring around it.”
Nina Lindholm, senior editor (London): nina.l@pei.group
Nina covers PE deals with European targets in the energy and industrials/manufacturing sectors. More capital is set to be deployed in the European energy segment than ever before, Carlos Candil, managing director and head of investment bank Lincoln International’s energy transition efforts, told Nina recently. Nina also had an intriguing conversation recently with Thomas Friedberger, deputy CEO and co-CIO at Paris-headquartered TIkehau Capital about the relationship between sustainability and the defense industry. “If we are convinced that our economic model of building more sustainable growth is the right one, we need to defend it,” he said. “There won’t be ESG without defense.”
Michael Schoeck, senior reporter (New York): michael.s@pei.group
Michael covers some of the same beats that Nina does – including energy and industrials/manufacturing - but with North American targets. He also specializes in uncovering leads on companies that will soon hit the market. Over the years, he’s developed a network of confidential sources who brief him on upcoming deals, yielding a few scoops for PE Hub every month. Last week, Michael was the first to report that CPA firmsEisnerAmper and Wipfliare expected to seek new PE investors soon. Check out Thursday’s US edition of the Wire for weekly updates on his companies coming to market coverage.
Rafael Canton, reporter (New York): rafael.c@pei.group
Rafael covers PE deals with North American targets in the technology, consumer and sports sectors. For insights on what’s driving the slew of take-private enterprise software transactions we’ve seen in 2025, Rafael recently spoke with Tara Gadgil, partner at Thoma Bravo; Monti Saroya, senior managing director and co-head of Vista Equity Partners’ flagship fund; and Joe Porter, partner and managing director in the technology, media and telecom group and head of software merger and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs. “There are some really high-quality revenue software companies in the public markets,” Gadgil told Rafael. “These companies grow more quickly than non-software companies and have higher gross margins but have lower EBITDA margins or profitability.”
Iris Dorbian, reporter (New York): iris.d@pei.group
Iris leads our deal announcement coverage in North America. Check out the News Briefs landing page. Iris also covers deals in the entertainment industry. She wrote recently about a flurry of deals for music rights. “When you have a deal that’s going to trade at $100 million, you’re going to have a lot of interest from larger investors and funds that will drive the price up,” Michael Poster, music acquisitions and financing chair at law firm Michelman & Robinson, told Iris. Poster recently co-represented Johnny McDaid, a Grammy Award-nominated songwriter and musician in the sale of his publishing catalog to Concord Music Group, which is backed by Apollo. “But for every one of those big deals, there are scores of under- to $10 million deals that are in the marketplace where there’s less competition.”
John R Fischer, reporter (New York): john.fischer@pei.group
John covers PE deals in the healthcare sector, traditionally one of the most active industries for healthcare. Last week, John did a deep dive on why private equity firms are investing in clinical trial management systems (CTMS) providers. “Sophisticated suppliers are needed to serve the pharma industry, because it is global by nature,” Daniel Berglund, partner and co-head of healthcare at Nordic Capital, told John. “This is where private equity excels, by creating high-quality providers that have not existed before, and it’s how we generate a return.” Last month, John wrote about PE investments in autism care.
Irien Joseph, reporter (London): irien.j@pei.group
Irien leads our deal announcement coverage in Europe. She also writes about deals with European targets in business services, infrastructure and technology. Recently, Irien has looking into PE dealmaking activity in various regions. Last week, she did a deep dive on Spain. One driver of deal activity is increased tourism, as Spain pivots from a Europe-centric tourism model to a more global visitor base. “We’re now witnessing a rise in visitors from beyond Europe – particularly from the US and China amongst others – alongside a broader shift towards higher-quality tourism experiences,” Santiago San Antonio Alonso, head of Iberia at Mutares, told Irien.
Obey Martin Manayiti, reporter (New York): obey.m@pei.group
Obey covers PE deals in financial services, industrials/manufacturing and logistics. Obey recently wrote about the surge in transactions involving registered investment advisors. “Leading RIAs are growing at attractive rates and have attractive growth margins,” David DeVoe, the founder and chief executive of DeVoe & Company, told Obey. “The industry is hyper-fragmented and will likely soon go through a natural period of consolidation, providing opportunities for acquisitive firms to grow quickly.” Obey also wrote about GTCR’s investment in Winged Keel Group, a US-based life insurance brokerage provider for high-net-worth families. GTCR managing directgor Mike Hollander told Obey the double-digit growth in the sector will continue, “driven by efficient estate planning that it helps facilitate.”
Sophie Rose, reporter (London): sophie.rose@pei.group
Sophie, along with Irien, writes deal announcements with European targets. She also writes deep dives about deals in the consumer, healthcare and technology sectors. This morning, we published Sophie’s story on deal activity in vitamins, minerals and supplements, featuring her interviews with Pontus Pettersson, partner at Cinven; Garyth Stone, managing director in Houlihan Lokey’s consumer group; Ben Black, executive director at Verlinvest; and Rafael Álvarez-Nóvoa, partner at Riverside Europe. “Private equity loves the VMS sector,” Houlihan Lokey’s Stone said. “The underlying trends behind the sector closely align with what private equity looks for. It’s a large market which is growing, as consumers across Europe are taking more vitamins and consumer behaviour is changing around how those vitamins are taken.”
Now that you know us, I hope you’ll reach out to us – with leads on PE deals, trends you’re seeing in the marketplace and thought leaders you think we should connect with!
Before I sign off, I’ve got one more shoutout. Special thanks to Chris Wood, managing editor, digital, who works behind the scenes producing the Wire, writing the "Also of note" section and making all our content shine online.
Craig will be with you tomorrow for the Europe edition of the Wire, and Michael will bring you the US edition.
Cheers,
MK
