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Apollo exits Maftec to Advantage Partners; Unilever snatches Dr. Squatch from Summit Partners

Good morning Hubsters. Michael Schoeck here with the US Wire from the New York newsroom, back from a few days of reprieve in the Catskills.

On the Wire today we have my weekly companies for sale update, which features confidential conversations with investment banks and PE firms. 

In deal news, we have a cross-border exit Apollo Global Management is making for a Japanese industrials firm.

And we’ll wrap up with a half-year M&A update from global consultancy firm KPMG.

Strategics value PE-backed companies for sale

Based on conversations with confidential sources, company for sale activity has been slowing down as the summer doldrums set in.  So far in 2025, I’ve been briefed on more than 125 companies expected to be for sale, with PE buyers or sellers.

Tariff uncertainty has created a derailed linkage between sellers and PE buyers, and strategics are representing a growing concentration of the buyer market in sale processes.

One such deal cropped up earlier this week as consumer giant Unilever announced an agreement to acquire men’s grooming products brand Dr. Squatch Soap from growth investor Summit Partners for undisclosed terms.

Upgrade to the premium Wire edition for more weekly companies for sale tidbits.

Grooming a company for sale? Got tips on an active company up for sale? Shoot me a note at [email protected].

Japanese exit

This morningApollo announced an agreement to sell Maftec Group, a Japanese insulation products manufacturer to the the automotive and industrial end-markets, to Advantage Partners.

Apollo acquired Maftec in 2022 through the separation of Mitsubishi Chemical’s thermal and emission control materials business.

Upgrade to the premium Wire for more insight on Japanese PE deal activity and why GPs are gravitating to the country, including John R Fischer’s recent deep dive.

Dealmaking rebound

In a newly published outlook titled ‘US M&A, PE & IPO Snapshot, 2H 25,’ consulting firm KPMG reports that 74 percent of dealmakers surveyed expect 2025 M&A levels to be higher than 2024. 

Upgrade to the premium edition of the Wire for more mid-year findings from the consulting firm.

That’s a wrap for me. Keep an eye out for the Europe edition of the Wire tomorrow from Irien Joseph and the US edition from John R Fischer.

Cheers,

Michael

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Inflexion’s initiative to expand portfolio companies to North America via add-on acquisitions is making “very meaningful” progress, despite only having launched fully four months ago, Ben Meyer, partner and head of North America, told PE Hub as part of its Dealmakers to Watch series.

Captona, a decarbonization and energy transition investor, is in talks with LPs about a debut offering, sources familiar with the firm told Buyouts. The New York manager is targeting about $1 billion for the fund, which will advance its strategy of making carbon-reducing investments in energy infrastructure assets, sources said.

In the latest episode of The Infrastructure Investor Podcast, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Madeleine Farman, editor of affiliate title Secondaries Investor and host of the Second Thoughts Podcast, as well as Infrastructure Investor Americas editor Zak Bentley to discuss the evolution of infra secondaries, its best-in-class pricing, the outsized role of continuation funds, new buyer-led technology and more.

LGT Capital Partners has emerged as a lead buyer in a $500 million multi-asset continuation fund deal run by China’s IDG Capital. (Secondaries Investor)

US utilities can provide stability amid volatility: Both large-cap and mid-cap infra investors have found joy in a sector still dominated by public ownership. (Infrastructure Investor)

How Apollo found impact value amid US political uncertainty: The firm's latest deal would not have been possible without a change in administration, co-head of impact Joanna Reiss tells New Private Markets.

Fidelity International, which manages a £17.5 billion ($24 billion; €21 billion) UK workplace pension scheme, is bullish on private markets and open to considering high-quality UK investments. The investment house expects to allocate between £1.5 billion and £2 billion towards private markets over the next three years within the Fidelity Diversified Private Assets LTAF. (Private Equity International)

Eurazeo‘s Planetary Boundaries Fund secured a sustainability-linked loan for its acquisition of SMP Energies, a company that drills and maintains geothermal wells, from private debt firm Kartesia, the lender said this week. (New Private Markets)

Hamilton Lane's decision to change the way it charges carried interest on one of its flagship semi-liquid funds was aimed at bringing incentives in line with other such vehicles in the industry, the firm’s executive co-chair, Hartley Rogers, said to to Private Equity International in London.

Richesh Shah, after more than nine years as managing director at PJT Partners, has joined Oaktree Capital Management as head of its Americas insurance solutions. In January, Oaktree hired Cyril Martin as its head of EMEA insurance solutions. To complete the triptych: Phil Joubert, of pan-Asia life insurer AIA, is slated to start an analogous role in the Asia-Pacific region in August, according to sources. (Private Debt Investor)

Deals

They said it

“Driven by innovative material processing technology, the company has developed leading new products and delivered significant growth and profitability in a challenging global business environment.”

— Tetsuji Okamoto, lead partner of Japan and head of private equity, Asia Pacific, Apollo, on the firm’s exit of Maftec Group to Advantage Partners.

Today's letter was prepared by Michael Schoeck

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