PE Weekly: Gemspring Carves out Goodyear Chemicals Biz; The Telegraph Acquired

Platform Investments

Gemspring Carves out Goodyear Chemical Business. Gemspring Capital Management, a middle-market private equity firm, has acquired The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s polymer chemicals business, a press release said. The acquisition includes two operating plants based in Texas as well as a research and facility based in Ohio. Goodyear, a publicly listed company, will retain some of its chemical facilities.

Limerston Launches Cybersecurity Platform. Limerston Capital, a middle-market private equity firm based in the U.K., has acquired CyberCrowd, a cybersecurity services provider. The investment launches Limerston’s cybersecurity platform along with previously acquired cybersecurity portfolio companies.

RedBird Acquires The Telegraph. RedBird Capital Partners, a private investment firm based in New York, has acquired U.K.-based Telegraph Media Group, including the newspaper The Telegraph, which RedBird plans to expand internationally. The investment, made for about $675 million, marks the largest media investment in U.K. print media in a decade.

Falfurrias Capital’s Crosslake Acquires Lucen Partners. Crosslake Technologies, a tech advisory services provider for private equity firms and their portfolio companies, has acquired advisory firm Lucen Partners. Lucen focuses on product and software advisory services for PE-backed tech companies. Crosslake is a portfolio company of Falfurrias Management Partners.

Add-Ons

Odyssey Investment’s PIP Takes Honeywell PPE Business Private. Odyssey Investment Partners-backed Protective Industrial Products (PIP) has acquired the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) business of Honeywell, a press release said. The acquisition includes the Fendall, Miller, Howard Leight and other brands, and expands PIP’s global manufacturing and distribution capabilities.

Cantor Fitzgerald Acquires UBS’s O’Connor Alternatives Platform. Cantor Fitzgerald, a global financial services firm, has announced it reached an agreement to acquire the O’Connor alternatives investment platform from UBS. The platform includes hedge funds, private credit and commodities with approximately $11 billion in invested assets, expanding Cantor Fitzgerald’s Asset Management capabilities.

Strategics

PNC Bank Acquires Aqueduct Capital Group. U.S. banking firm PNC Bank has acquired broker-dealer Aqueduct Capital Group, recent reports said. Aqueduct is an alternative asset placement firm that raises capital for private credit, private equity and real asset managers.

Exits

Court Square Exits RailPros. Court Square Capital Partners announced the sale of RailPros this week. The company provides outsourced safety management, design, inspection, training and other services to rail operators, utilities and others in the rail infrastructure market. Court Square first invested in the business in 2020; Littlejohn & Co. acquired the company.

ATL Partners Exits Geost to Rocket Lab. ATL Partners, a commercial aerospace-focused private equity firm, has announced the exit of Geost, a subsidiary of portfolio company LightRidge Solutions Company that produces high-performance optical systems for national security space missions. The business was acquired by Roket Lab USA, a publicly listed space systems and launch services provider. ATL first acquired Geost in 2021. In addition to the sale, ATL also announced the launch of its new defense electronics platform Trident Solutions.

GTCR Exits Antylia Scientific. Private equity firm GTCR announced the sale of Antylia Scientific for $1.34 billion. Brookfield Asset Management’s private equity business and CDPQ acquired the life sciences business, which manufactures products for research and clinical labs processes. GTCR first invested in the company in 2014.

Fundraising

RCP Advisors Raises $314 Million. RCP Advisors, a Chicago-based sponsor of private equity funds-of-funds, secondary funds and investment funds focused on the lower-middle market, has closed its nineteenth fund of funds, raising about $314 million. Fund XIX will target investments with buyout fund managers focused on committed capital of less than $1 billion.

Insights

Charli Capital Launches Smart Deal Finder. Charli Capital, a provider of market intelligence for investors, has launched Smart Deal Finder, a sourcing platform offering insight into private and public companies, their performance, market sentiment and other data. The platform offers a “Shopify-like” marketplace for investors and investment professionals to explore potential targets.

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.