Happy Friday. Here’s what we’ve got today…

• A look at Goldman’s latest private credit raise

• Plus, a Pershing Square stake sale and new platforms for Cerberus, GTCR, KKR, and Shore Capital Partners

Goldman Sachs raises $20 billion for direct lending

by Bob Clair

Goldman Sachs Alternatives announced that it has raised more than $20 billion for its latest private credit fund, the firm’s largest ever haul for the strategy and significantly above target.

In a statement this week, the firm said it closed its large-cap senior direct lending vehicle West Street Loan Partners V at $13.1 billion, which includes LP equity commitments and long-term asset financing, as well as Goldman Sachs’ own balance sheet commitment.

In addition to the fifth fund, the firm also closed more than $7 billion in large-cap senior direct lending managed accounts and $550 million of co-investment vehicles, bringing the total capital raised to over $20 billion.

These accounts will invest alongside the main fund and have become a popular option for larger allocators who can secure better terms than a standard fund commitment. Investors include a mix of US and international pension plans, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds, alongside commitments from Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management unit.

“The market for senior direct lending continues to benefit from the growing demand from financial sponsors,” said James Reynolds, global head of direct lending for Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Reynolds added that while the bank expects the syndicated and private credit markets will continue to co-exist, it is seeing an increase in opportunities for alternative lending sources that can provide size, structural flexibility, and certainty of execution to borrowers.

The fund has already begun investing and has committed $4 billion across 37 portfolio companies.

• Brookfield, Brookfield Renewable, and Temasek have entered into exclusive talks to acquire a 53.32 percent stake in Neoen, a French renewables developer, with plans to launch a tender offer at a valuation of around $10 billion, per Bloomberg.

• EnCap Investments is preparing to sell Double Eagle Energy Holdings IV, a Permian Basin-based oil and gas producer, which could be valued at more than $6.5 billion, per Reuters.

• Barracuda Networks, a portfolio company of KKR, is among those interested in acquiring Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo-backed N-able (NYSE: NABL), a $2.5 billion market cap provider of remote monitoring and data protection software, which is exploring a sale following inbound interest, per Reuters.

• Skydance Media, backed by KKR and RedBird Capital Partners, has increased its offer to acquire Paramount Global (Nasdaq: PARA).

• Blackstone agreed to acquire a 55.1 percent stake in Infocom Corp., a Japanese e-comics provider, from Teijin Ltd. for around $1.66 billion.

• Nordson (Nasdaq: NDSN) agreed to acquire Atrion (Nasdaq: ATRI), a manufacturer of medical infusion fluid delivery and niche cardiovascular solutions, for around $800 million.

• Cerberus Capital Management agreed to acquire the Calspan hypersonic and defense test systems units from TransDigm Group (NYSE: TDG) to form North Wind.

• Dalton Investments, a U.S. activist fund, sent a letter to Fuji Media, a Japanese broadcaster, outlining a proposal to take the group private through a management buyout.

• ACA Group, a portfolio company of Genstar Capital, agreed to acquire UMB Fund Services, the broker-dealer distribution subsidiary of UMB Financial (Nasdaq: UMBF).

• GTCR agreed to acquire Surmodics (Nasdaq: SRDX), a provider of medical device and in vitro diagnostics, for around $627 million or $43 per share in cash.

• KKR agreed to acquire a majority stake in Agiloft, a provider of data-first contract lifecycle management software, with existing backer FTV Capital making an additional investment and JMI Equity joining as a new investor.

• JPA Health, a portfolio company of Great Point Partners, agreed to acquire BioCentric, a Collingswood, N.J.-based medical communications agency.

• The HC Companies, a portfolio company of Platinum Equity, acquired gardening products retailer Classic Home & Garden.

• Hudson Glade acquired Quality First Home Improvement, a Sacramento, CA-based provider of home repair and installation services.

• Suja Life, a portfolio company of Paine Schwartz Partners, acquired certain assets of Slice, a fruit-flavored soda brand.

• Tencarva Machinery Company, a portfolio company of Bessemer Investors, acquired Tri-State Coating & Machine, a provider of specialized thermal coating services.

• Uhuru Investment Partners acquired Cresta Paints, a Ghana-based provider of automotive refinish and protective coatings, from Adenia Partners.

• Asylum Entertainment Group, backed by Endeavor, acquired a minority stake in Ladywell Films, an independent production house founded by "Tinder Swindler" filmmakers Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris.

• Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR) acquired AdvisorTarget, a provider of marketing data products to wealth managers.

• Stout agreed to acquire HealthCare Appraisers, a healthcare valuation and consulting services provider.

• Chelsea FC is considering the sale of a minority stake in its women's team at a potential valuation above £150 million and has hired BDT & MSD Partners to advise.

• Red Bull acquired a minority stake in Leeds United, an English soccer club, and will become the club's front-of-shirt sponsor starting next season in a multi-year deal.

• China's Silk Road Fund sold its 9 percent stake in Pirelli, an Italian tire manufacturer, for around €520 million.

• Precision for Medicine, a portfolio company of Blackstone, agreed to acquire Algorics, a clinical technologies and biometrics service provider.

• Shore Capital Partners acquired Pritzlaff Wholesale Meats, a meat distribution and processing purveyor in Wisconsin and Illinois.

• Solis Mammography, a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners, acquired MUSIC, a Gainesville, Florida-based imaging clinic.

• Tennaxia, a portfolio company of Marlin Equity Partners, acquired carbon accounting platform Traace.

• Trivest Partners acquired Star Shuttle, a San Antonio-based provider of transportation services to schools, universities, and government entities.

• Pershing Square Capital Management, Bill Ackman's hedge fund, is selling a 10 percent stake at a $10.5 billion valuation ahead of a planned U.S. IPO in late 2025 or early 2026.

• Saudi Aramco announced the launch of a secondary offering to raise up to $11.95 billion.

• Flix, the Greyhound bus owner backed by General Atlantic, Permira, TCV, HV Capital, BlackRock, Baillie Gifford, and Silver Lake, postponed its planned €4 billion Frankfurt IPO due to valuation disagreements, per Bloomberg.

• Guzman y Gomez, an Australian fast-food chain whose backers include Cooper Investors and Hyperion Asset Management, plans to raise A$242.5 million in its IPO at a A$2.2 billion valuation.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Vista Equity Partners led a growth investment in Portside, a provider of business aviation software, with participation from existing investor Insight Partners.

• Reibus, an independent metals marketplace, raised $30 million in new equity and debt funding from existing investors Canaan Partners and Nosara Capital, plus HSBC.

• Maven AGI, a generative AI platform for enterprise customer support, raised $28 million in Series A funding led by M13, with participation from Lux Capital, E14 Fund, and Mentors Fund.

• StructureFlow, a London-based legal charting platform, raised $6 million in Series A funding led by FINTOP Capital, with participation from Venrex.

• Basalt Technologies, a San Francisco-based spacecraft OS startup, raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by Initialized Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Liquid2, and General Catalyst.

Fintech

• FintechOS, a financial product management platform for banks, raised $60 million in Series B funding co-led by Molten Ventures, Cipio Partners, and BlackRock, with participation from EarlyBird VC, OTB VC, and Gapminder VC.

• Doconomy, a Swedish climate impact fintech, raised €34 million in Series B funding co-led by UBS Next and CommerzVentures, with participation from S&P Global, Motive Ventures, PostFinance, and Tenity.

• Relay, a small business banking platform, raised $32.2 million in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from BTV, Garage, Tapestry, and Industry Ventures.

• Forward, an Austin-based integrated payments provider, raised $16 million in seed funding co-led by Commerce Ventures, Elefund, and Fiserv.

• Fortunafi, a Miami, FL-based onchain platform for real world assets, raised $9.5 million in total funding from Shima Capital, Manifold, Cobie, and Evanss6.

• Swiipr, a British travel paytech, raised $7.6 million in Series A funding led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from TX Ventures and Solano Partners.

• YoLa Fresh, a Moroccan startup connecting farmers with retailers, raised $7 million in pre-Series A funding led by Al Mada Ventures, with participation from Algebra Ventures, E3 Capital, and Janngo Capital.

• Vegapay, a B2B digital lending and credit card management platform, raised $5.5 million in seed funding led by Elevation Capital, with participation from existing investor Eximius Ventures.

Healthcare

• Allez Health, a Carlsbad, California-based biosensor developer, raised $60 million in Series A extension financing led by Osang Healthcare.

• Expressable, a virtual speech therapy provider, raised $26 million in Series B funding led by HarbourVest Partners, with participation from Digitalis Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Lerer Hippeau.

• Valar Labs, a precision medicine startup using computational histology to predict response to cancer therapies, raised $22 million in Series A funding co-led by DCVC and Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Pear VC.

• ifeel, a European mental health solution for enterprises and insurance, raised $20 million in Series B funding co-led by FinTLV Ventures and Korelya Capital, with participation from existing investors SCOR Ventures, Nauta, and UNIQA Ventures.

• Rhea, a reproductive health startup, raised $10 million in a follow-on funding round led by Thiel Capital, with participation from LifeX Ventures, Blue Lion Global, and FJ Labs.

• Weave Bio, an AI-native life sciences regulatory platform, raised $10 million in seed funding co-led by Innovation Endeavors and Magnetic Ventures.

• Amino Health, a digital healthcare guidance startup, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Transformation Capital.

• Posterity Health, a digital male fertility platform, raised $6 million in seed funding led by FCA Venture Partners, with participation from Distributed Ventures and WVV Capital.

• StrokeDx, a Pasadena, Calif.-based developer of portable stroke diagnostic devices, raised $5 million in seed funding led by DigiTx Partners, with participation from Freeflow Ventures.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Clean Energy Terminals, an offshore wind port developer, raised $50 million in new funding from Homecoming Capital.

• WindBorne Systems, a Palo Alto-based startup developing a balloon-based data source for weather, raised $6 million in seed funding led by Footwork, with participation from Khosla Ventures, Pear VC, Ubiquity Ventures, Harvest Ventures, and Humba Ventures.

• iyris (fka RedSea), a Saudi Arabia-based agritech focused on crop yields, raised $16 million in Series A funding led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund, with participation from Global Ventures, Dubai Future District Fund, Kanoo Ventures, Globivest, and Bonaventure Capital.

• TCV raised $3 billion for its 12th flagship growth fund.

• Eevolve raised €372m for its debut lower middle market buyout fund.

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