6 PE deals for the movie industry; a road infrastructure deal; plus more Deals of the Year

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6 PE deals for the movie industry; a road infrastructure deal; plus more Deals of the Year

Good morning dealmakers. Thank goodness it’s Good Friday!

To cap off the week, and hopefully a long weekend for some, I am looking at six PE deals in the movie industry that recently caught our attention here at PE Hub.

We also have a road infrastructure deal announced yesterday with Highway Supply LLC acquired by RoadSafe Traffic Systems, a portfolio company of Investcorp and Trilantic North America. I will sign off with highlights from the recently announced Deal of the Year winners in the international and the small market categories.

Private equity goes to the movies

The emergence of streaming platforms as a viable alternative to movie theaters at the height of the pandemic left a lasting imprint on the sector, making multiplatform entertainment especially alluring for private equity, reports my colleague Iris Dorbian.

Back in 2021, through its media rollup Candle Media, Blackstone capitalized on the phenomenon that’s transforming content by acquiring a wide array of Hollywood production companies, most prominently Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Since then, quite a few buyout shops have jumped into the fray, investing in everything from a new production company co-founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to a content studio focused on people of color.

Traffic Control

Yesterday, RoadSafe Traffic Systems, which is backed by Investcorp and Trilantic North America, acquired Highway Supply LLC, a provider of traffic control products and services based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Deals of the Year

International winner: Earlier this week, New York-headquartered JC Flowers was announced as the winner for the international category of the Deal of the Year by affiliate Buyouts.

When the firm acquired the UK’s Interactive Investor in 2017, its number one priority was to boost scale to help turn around the struggling online retail investment platform into an efficient, profitable and competitive player in the sector, Tim Hanford, co-president of JC Flowers and managing director in charge of the firm’s Europe operations told me in an interview.

Read all about it on PE Hub.

Small market: Blackford Capital, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-headquartered firm scooped this category after transforming the family-run Quality Aluminum Products (QAP), a building products company that it acquired in 2016.

Read the full story on PE Hub.

That’s it for me today. You can reach out to me at [email protected].

MK Flynn will be back with the Wire on Monday.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Obey

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

LPs approved Abbott Capital Management’s term extension request for its sixth flagship fund-of-funds, despite at least two investors pushing back, according to a source familiar with the issue. (Buyouts)

Michael Murphy, co-head of Credit Suisse’s private fund group, is stepping down from leadership and leaving the bank, sources told Buyouts.

With deals few and far between in this period of recalibration in private real estate, there is more than one reason why Henderson Park Capital’s exit of the Westin Paris – Vendôme stands out. (PERE)

Applied Real Intelligence has held a first close for its venture debt fund, ARI Venture Debt Opportunities Fund, Private Debt Investor has learned.

The key to buying a minority GP stake isn’t in the price: Existing relationships between acquirer and seller, perceived strategic benefits and cultural fit can make or break a partnership transaction. (Private Equity International)

Continuation funds that have been formed since the tool was reimagined for prized assets are beginning to bear fruit. (Secondaries Investor)

"New York City’s chief financial officer announced plans Wednesday to divest the future private equity holdings of two major retirement funds from fossil fuels, making them among the first major public pensions in the nation to take the step." (The City)

"Medical Properties Trust Inc., one of the country’s biggest owners of hospital properties, expects to take an approximately $300 million charge to earnings tied to a deal involving some of its holdings, company executives said." (Wall Street Journal)

"EnCap Investments is exploring the sale of two Permian basin-focused oil and gas producers that could collectively fetch the private equity firm nearly $3 billion, people familiar with the matter said." (Reuters)

"Blackstone’s SVB Deal That Got Away Shows Private Equity Sidelined in Crisis" (Bloomberg)

"Two former executives of Boston Private and its acquirer, the failed lender Silicon Valley Bank, have registered as representatives of Cynosure Management, a registered investment advisor affiliated with the Utah-based private-equity firm Cynosure Group." (Barron's)