Happy Fri-yay, Hubsters! Aaron Weitzman here, hoping that deal activity heats up, as the weather gets cold, and we move closer to winter. Speaking of deal activity, today we’re looking at another example of GTCR’s The Leaders Strategy – this time in medical devices – and we’re seeing increased private equity interest in airports, highlighting deals from Corsair in the US and CPPIB in Europe. Healthcare heartbeat. GTCR has been extremely active recently, as I have covered three of their deals over the past month. Among those, the latest investment took place in the medical device space. The Chicago-based firm looks to replicate Resonetics’ success with new investment Biocoat, as I had a chance to speak with Luke Marker, managing director about the investment in the maker of coatings for medical devices. GTCR is turning to a familiar playbook with Biocoat, a specialty manufacturer of hydrophilic biomaterial coatings, services and dip-coating equipment for medical devices. The firm announced its majority investment in the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company earlier in November. With Biocoat, GTCR is once again tapping Chip Hance, a seasoned executive in the medical device business. You can read the whole story here. Spotlight on services. It looks like dealmaking in healthcare services remains … healthy. It’s the largest vertical inside of PE healthcare investing, making up 10 percent of buyout and growth deals in 2022, according to Pitchbook. Amid all the turmoil on the macroeconomic front, deal and exit activity in healthcare services have been resilient, especially in the lower mid-market. So far there have been 511 deals in healthcare services, and it’s estimated to end up at 725 by the end of the year. While that number lags behind last year’s total of 1,004, it is above pre-pandemic 2019’s total of 593. Last year’s 721 was a rarity. Airport advancement. Corsair and Vantage Airport Group clinched a $4.2 billion deal for JFK’s Terminal 6. I thought this was timely, given the holiday season is approaching and people will be traveling. It also seems as though we are far enough removed from the height of covid and the pandemic, where airports are becoming busier. Obey Martin Manayiti reported on the deal and caught up with Hari Rajan, partner and head of infrastructure at Corsair. “We were bullish about traffic volumes in general and globally as an investor,” Rajan said. “That’s a theme that we are keen to put capital behind, assuming that it can be done in the right type of deals that have the right elements to them.” Even as the world faces an economic slowdown that will likely have impacts across different sectors, Rajan expressed confidence that Corsair will navigate the situation. “With private equity sponsorship, there is a certain amount of innovation and creativity and nimbleness in deal structuring that can get you through a volatile period like this.” You can read the whole story here. And JFK is not the only airport that will look to the private equity industry for upgrades and improvements. Craig McGlashan over at PE Hub Europe reported that CPP Investments has agreed to buy a 1.59 percent stake in Aéroports de Paris (Groupe ADP) from Royal Schiphol Group. Paris-based Groupe ADP owns international airports Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly Airport and Le Bourget Airport – all based in Paris – as well as interests in a network of 25 airports worldwide that handled 160 million passengers last year. It has committed to carbon neutrality at 23 airports, including its Parisian ones, by 2030. Once the deal is settled, CPP will hold a stake of around 5.64 percent in Groupe ADP, or €791 million-worth at market prices on 16 November. For more on the deal, check out PE Hub Europe’s coverage here. Don’t miss. Are you signed up for PE Hub Europe? We recently launched the new website, which provides in-depth coverage and exclusive insight on European private equity deals. Look to PE Hub Europe for: • The latest deal terms and pricing to bolster your negotiations • Deal trend analysis to know if a sector is hot or overheated • Relevant and accurate intelligence on fund manager activity • Rare insight about fresh investment opportunities & pending deals We are currently offering complimentary access to PE Hub Europe. Sign in or register to start reading today! Bon weekend. Before I sign off, I want to give a shoutout to both The Riverside Company and McDermott Will & Emery. The former hosted a breakfast media roundtable yesterday, and the latter connected me with a bunch of healthcare M&A lawyers that I got to meet in person over lunch last week. I love that in person meetings and get-togethers are back on the table. If you want to meet, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] so we can set something up! That is a wrap for me. MK Flynn will be back with the Wire on Monday. I won’t be writing to you next week, due to the Thanksgiving break so I wanted to wish everyone an albeit early, happy and safe turkey day. I know I am excited to recharge my batteries and come back to close out the year strong. Cheers, Aaron Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 