View this email online 

Private equity buys into the NFL, Ares ‘honored’ to be on list; Iconex is finally sold

Morning Hubsters, Rafael Canton here with the Wednesday Wire.

First, we have some big PE news in the sports world: the NFL has allowed a select group of PE firms to become investors in NFL teams. One of those GPs – Ares Management – shared its reaction with PE Hub, while we also hear from the head of Simpson Thacher’s mergers and acquisitions practice on the details of the agreement.

Second is a look at Wynnchurch Capital-backed M2S Group acquiring Iconex from Atlas Holdings.The deal follows PE Hub’s coverage of Iconex’s sale process.

Finally, we have a deal from this morning. Mill Rock Packaging, a portfolio company of Mill Rock Capital, has acquired the Woodland, California packaging and laminating assets of Everett Graphics.

Touchdown for private equity

After months of speculation, the NFL has officially approved private equity firms as investors. NFL owners met up in Minneapolis yesterday and voted to allow PE firms to take passive minority stakes in teams.

Find out more about which PE firms were approved, the guidelines for PE investors and thoughts from a couple of the firms and the head of Simpson Thacher’s mergers and acquisitions practice in the premium version of the Wire.

PE Hub has been monitoring the NFL news over the last few months, including why PE firms would be interested in investing in an NFL team.

Labeled a deal

Wynnchurch Capital-backed M2S Group acquired Iconex Labels from Atlas Holdings, the firm announced yesterday. Iconex is the largest US manufacturer of two-sided paper labels used on food and beverage containers.

Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to learn more about the deal and Iconex being up for sale.

Iconex’s customer base includes categories such as foodservice, eCommerce and shipping, grocery and retail, and pharmacy. Foodservice has been a busy place for PE dealmaking. We recently highlighted seven foodservice deals in the past month involving focuses such as distribution, management and sourcing among others.

Packaging times two

Continuing with the packaging and labeling theme, we have a deal from this morning. Mill Rock Packaging, a portfolio company of Mill Rock Capital, has acquired the Woodland, California-based packaging and laminating assets of Everett Graphics.

Premium subscribers can learn more about the deal.

That’s it from me today. If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat, please email me at rafael.c@pei.group

Michael Schoeck will have the Wire for you tomorrow.

Cheers,

Rafael

In case you missed it

PE Hub is broadening its scope with new, in-depth coverage of European deals. Tune in, Wednesday, September 4, for the latest insights, key transactions, and expert analysis from across the European private equity landscape.

Whether you’re looking to stay on top of the market or find your next big opportunity, our expanded European deals coverage will keep you ahead of the curve.

Reach out to subscriptions@pei.group to book a no-obligation tour of PE Hub’s newly expanded deals coverage.

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Kian Capital partnered with Apogem Capital to extend hold over SPATCO Energy. The firm was best positioned to know the asset well, which helped inform its ability to set an appropriate price, Kian managing partner Kevin McCarthy said in an interview. (Buyouts)

Ardian predicts dealflow to be slower in the upcoming months, particularly in the B2C and B2B markets, François Jerphagnon, managing director and head of Expansion, told PE Hub Europe in the latest of its outlook pieces for the second half of 2024.

LS Power has exceeded its $2.5 billion target to raise $2.7 billion for its fifth flagship North American energy infrastructure fund. (Infrastructure Investor)

Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board co-investment program, introduced in 2014, now makes up $1.9 billion – or just over 10 percent – of its private equity portfolio, according to MassPRIM’s 15 August board meeting documents. The program has helped MassPRIM cut costs by an average of 400 basis points on an annual basis, the documents said. (Private Equity International)

Infrastructure Investor's latest Transport report finds that traffic volumes across key verticals – road, rail, shipping and aviation – have rebounded since the pandemic, bringing fresh optimism to the sector, and there are plenty of investment opportunities, particularly with an eye to decarbonization.

HarbourVest: Scale is required to take the lead on secondaries’ growing deals. "I can hand on heart say there has never been a deeper, more robust pipeline than the one that we have right now," HarbourVest's Jeff Keay told Secondaries Investor on the back of its $15.1bn flagship raise.

The Employees Retirement System of Texas, which has $39.1 billion in assets under management, will make four to seven new primary fund commitments over its fiscal year 2025, which begins in September, as well as one or two co-investments. While it has a commitment target of $300 million, ERS may allocate towards the upper limit of its $150 million to $450 million commitment range to take advantage of favorable market conditions. (Private Equity Real Estate)

Speaking of Texas ERS, the pension plan is looking to increase its $1.42 billion private credit allocation by $200 million in the fiscal year starting 1 September. (Private Debt Investor)

They said it

“I think this is a smart decision for the NFL, particularly as franchise valuations continue to rise. They have seen this avenue in other sports leagues become a successful path for creating additional liquidity. The NFL as well as the other leagues are putting in tailored guardrails as they gain more experience with private equity participants, including incorporating investment limits.”

— Eric Swedenburg, head of mergers and acquisitions, Simpson Thacher