PE Weekly: The SPAC Is Back? Plus, Industrials M&A Drives on

Platform Investments

Transom Capital Acquires WellBiz Brands. Transom Capital Group, a private equity firm, recently announced its acquisition of WellBiz Brands. The company is a beauty and wellness franchisor platform that includes five brands across health and beauty, including Drybar and Elements Massage.

Lone Star Acquires Alliance Ground. Investment firm Lone Star, which invests in private equity, credit, and real estate, has invested in Alliance Ground International. The airport services provider was previously sponsored by Greenbriar Equity Group and Audax Private Equity.

KPS Capital Takes Novacel Private. KPS Capital Partners announced this week that it will acquire Novacel from its parent company Chargeurs. KPS will acquire a majority stake in the business, which manufactures surface protection solutions for building exterior, building interior and equipment, industrial, appliances, and transportation end markets. Chargeurs will retain a minority stake in Novacel.

Liberty Mutual Investments Takes Minority Stake in Mascarene. Liberty Mutual Investments, the investment firm of Liberty Mutual Group, has acquired a minority stake in middle-market infrastructure investment platform Mascarene Partners. Mascarene focuses on the transportation and industrial sectors.

Southfield Capital Acquires Contextual.io. Southfield Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm, has acquired Contextual.io. The company is an AI orchestration platform. Southfield will integrate and embed the company’s technology into its own partnership model.

JLL Partners Acquires PowerParts. JLL Partners, a middle-market private equity firm focused on the healthcare, industrials, and business services spaces, has acquired PowerParts. The company provides replacement parts and field services for gas and steam power turbines.

Add-Ons

Gryphon’s Metagenics Acquires Symprove. Metagenics, a professional supplement brand backed by Gryphon Investors, has acquired Symprove. The U.K.-based business is a probiotic brand previously backed by bd-capital.

Thompson Street’s PestCo Acquires Long Pest Control. PestCo Holdings, a pest control services provider to residential and commercial customers, announced its acquisition of Long Pest Control in a recent press release. PestCo is backed by Thompson Street Capital Partners.

Iron Path’s PRO-SET Acquires Universal Chemicals. PRO-SET Formulated Resin Systems has acquired Universal Chemicals and Coatings, which manufactures custom industrial coatings, laminating adhesives, and container linings. PRO-SET is a portfolio company of Iron Path Capital.

Heartwood’s Amlon Group Acquires Mastermelt. The Amlon Group, an environmental and waste management solutions provider backed by Heartwood Partners, has acquired Mastermelt America, according to a recent press release. Mastermelt, which is now operating as Amlon Sweetwater, is a facility specializing in processing and treating complex industrial waste streams for the chemical, pharmaceutical, electronics, aerospace, and power generation sectors.

Grovecourt’s Premier Radiology Acquires NRAD. Premier Radiology Services, which provides teleradiology solutions in outpatient settings, has acquired National Radiology Solutions, according to a recent announcement. Premier is backed by Grovecourt Capital Partners.

TriSpan’s PrestigePEO Acquires O2 Employment Services. PrestigePEO, a professional employer organization providing HR and employee benefits solutions, has acquired O2 Employment Services, an HR outsourcing firm. PrestigePEO is backed by TriSpan LLP.

Exits

General Fusion to Go Public Via SPAC. General Fusion, a fusion energy technology company, announced plans to go public via reverse merger. Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III, a special purpose acquisition company, will acquire the business in a transaction that values the business at about $1 billion, according to reports.

Kohlberg Exits ENTRUST Solutions. Middle-market private equity firm Kohlberg has sold ENTRUST Solutions Group for approximately $2.4 billion. Publicly listed Leidos will acquire the business. Kohlberg first acquired the consulting and engineering services platform in 2019.

SK Capital Exits Noramco, Extractas Biosciences, and Purisys. SK Capital Partners, a life sciences-focused private investment firm, announced it reached an agreement to exit three portfolio companies. The firm will sell Noramco, Extractas Biosciences, and Purisys to Siegfried Holding, a contract development and manufacturing organization for the pharmaceutical sector.

Periscope Exits Brightfin. Periscope Equity announced the sale of Brightfin and its ServiceNow-native business. Periscope first formed Brightfin through its acquisitions of Mobile Solutions, MobiChord, and Visage. Silversmith Capital Partners has acquired the company’s ServiceNow-native enterprise business, while its Mobile Solutions business has been relaunched to market as an independent platform. Mobile Solutions offers enterprise mobile device and telecom spend management services.

Fundraising

HarbourVest Partners Closes Secondaries-Focused Structured Solutions Vehicle. Private markets investing firm HarbourVest Partners announced this week the close of its structured solutions vehicle for private market secondaries investments. HarbourVest Partners Structured Solutions 2025 has the capacity to invest $1.1 billion into diversified secondary investments in private equity and private credit.

Insights

WR Valuation Launches as an Independent Platform. WR Valuation has formally launched on the marketplace as an independent platform, the company said in a press release this week. The valuation and advisory services company specializes in the middle market and services public companies, private equity groups, middle-market businesses, and financial sponsors.

Middle Market Growth is produced by the Association for Corporate Growth. To learn more about the organization and how to become a member, visit www.acg.org.