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One Rock invests $500m in landscaping biz, and FFL closes clinical research site deal

Good morning, dealmakers. MK Flynn here with today’s Wire.

As the summer winds down, not everyone is on vacation.

Several deals were announced this morning, demonstrating that at least some dealmakers are still hard at work.

Two transactions caught my attention.

The folks at One Rock announced an interesting mid-market deal.

And the team at FFL Partners closed a previously announced transaction.

Let’s get right to those deals.

Transformative growth

One Rock Capital Partners has made a $500 million strategic investment in commercial landscaping services provider BrightView Holdings in the form of convertible preferred stock.

BrightView, based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, also announced that Dale Asplund will serve as president and CEO, effective October 1.

One Rock has extensive experience in the sector. For example, the New York PE firm sold Monarch Landscape Companies to Audax Private Equity last year.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to find out more about One Rock's plans for BrightView.

Clinical trials

FFL Partners, which invests in healthcare and tech-enabled services businesses, has completed an investment in Johnson County Clin-Trials. Known as JCCT, is a clinical research site platform serving pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and contract research organizations.

To find out more, subscribe to the premium version.

Recommended reading

Before I sign off, I want to mention two recent interviews we did with perspectives on dealmaking in the second half of the year.

Check out my Q&A with Martin Brand, who serves as head of North America private equity and global co-head of technology investing for Blackstone.

"High-quality assets will find a buyer," Brand told me.

And take a look at my interview with Anne Philpott, a managing director on the private equity and junior capital team at Churchill Asset Management.

Philpott identified the three factors shared by businesses that can succeed in any economy. 

That's all for today. Craig McGlashan will be back with more tomorrow.

Happy dealmaking,

MK

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

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The SEC’s vote this week that makes third-party opinions in continuation fund transactions mandatory was a practice that was already becoming a market norm. (Secondaries Investor)

The SEC's new private funds rules aren’t as draconian as some anticipated, but they still represent a significant change from business as usual. Here is what VCs need to know. (Venture Capital Journal)

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Private funds managers urgently need to assess their exposure to a Memorial Day weekend hack that targeted managed-file-transfer supply chains. (Private Funds CFO)