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The Wire

Private equity deal news and insights from the London newsroom

Jan 28, 2025

 

Main Capital’s RailCube buys US biz; QPE looks to consolidate dental labs; Investcorp’s new head of PE

Morning all, Craig McGlashan here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.

 

Support for breaking into the US market is often one of the reasons that European businesses bring in private equity backing, and we’ve got an example of one such deal this morning.

 

Main Capital-backedfreight railway software vendor RailCube has just made a push in North America with its first add-on since the private equity firm invested in 2023.

 

Next, we have Queen’s Park Equity becoming the latest private equity firm to look to consolidate the UK and EU dental laboratory industry by backing a management buyout.

 

Switching to people news, Investcorp has announced a new global head of private equity.

 

Finally, we’ve got some people news of our own, with a promotion on the London-based PE Hub team.

 

Safety first

Main Capital-backedfreight railwaysoftware vendor RailCube has acquired Spark TS, a compliance, safety, and drug and alcohol testing software and services provider.

 

Find out more in the premium version of the Wire.

 

Open wide

Queen’s Park Equity has become the latest private equity firm to make a play to consolidate the fragmented UK and EU dental laboratory sector by backing the management buyout of MediMatch.

 

Read more about the deal and other private equity firms looking to consolidate this industry in the premium version of the Wire.

 

Comeback

Investcorp has announced that Daniel Lopez-Cruz will be rejoining the firm as global head of private equity.

 

Promotion

Speaking of people news and in case you missed the announcement in yesterday’s US Wire, Nina Lindholm has been promoted to senior reporter of PE Hub.

 

Over the last year, Nina has assumed new and more challenging responsibilities, including taking a lead role on premium newsletters, managing projects, editing articles, training reporters and deputizing for me. Nina’s responsibilities have expanded in tandem with the growth of PE Hub and the reporting team that supports our global mission.

 

Nina, who is based in Cardiff, joined PE Hub as a reporter in 2022 and has been instrumental in our coverage of European dealmaking. She’ll continue to report to me.

 

Please join me in congratulating Nina at [email protected]

 

OK, that’s a wrap for me. I’m off to Cannes later today for the IPEM conference. If you want to have a quick chat at the event, drop me a note at [email protected]

 

Obey Martin Manayiti will bring you the US Wire later today, while our new senior reporter Nina will fill in for me in Europe tomorrow.

 

Cheers,

Craig

 

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Today's must reads

> GP stake strategy represents the best of both worlds, says HPC's Conway Bate More...
> Share of commitments for GP-led secondaries deals to grow in 2025 – Lazard More...
> Treatments for neurological disorders draw PE interest: 5 deals More...
> 7 PE-backed deals: 2025 shaping up as bumper year for education sector  More...
> GTCR's Mike Hollander: High-net-worth life insurance growing at double digits More...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

 

CalPERS closes multi-billion-dollar sale to Ardian, AlpInvest, Partners Group: The pension giant has come up with a pricing strategy that could make it benefit more from this portfolio sale. (Buyouts)

 

LP demand for mid-market and manager independence brings Fengate to $1.1bn close: After closing Fengate Infrastructure Fund IV, the manager anticipates launching a new vehicle at the end of this year or beginning of next. (Infrastructure Investor)

 

Texas ERS looks to niche managers for outperformance: Lower mid-market private debt is a sweet spot, offering much higher spreads at lower leverage. (Private Debt Investor)

 

Hamilton Lane presses further into retail with Republic collab: The mega LP will commit funds to the private assets platform for individuals. (Private Funds CFO)

 

Funds are cautiously optimistic about a rebound in exits: Some VCs believe deals between small and midsized companies will proceed smoothly but that large-scale M&A transactions will continue to be hampered by unclear anti-trust treatment in certain concentrated markets. (Venture Capital Journal)

Deals

> Tikehau Capital signs agreement to buy German TTSP HWP More...
> Main Capital-backed RailCube enters US with Spark TS acquisition More...
> QPE supports management buyout of MediMatch More...
> Thoma Bravo backs merger of govtech firm Opexus and legal tech firm Casepoint More...
> Northlane invests in fundraising consultancy firm Plus Delta More...
> Apollo completes $3.6bn take-private buyout of Barnes Group More...
People
> ICG strengthens German presence with Munich office More...
> Daniel Lopez-Cruz rejoins Investcorp as global head of PE More...
> Kainos Capital promotes Bissot to managing director More...

They said it

“Through this strategic partnership, we are bringing together two highly complementary organizations and products, and establishing a unique proposition for railway undertakings, combining RailCube’s end-to-end suite with Spark TS’s best-of-breed safety and compliance expertise.”

— Sjoerd Aarts, managing partner, Main Capital

 

Today's letter was prepared by Craig McGlashan

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