Private debt's influence broadens as it grows

Wiz sets new bar in rapid growth; are there buyers for climate-tech companies?; Nerdio joins unicorn herd with $500M Series C

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. Log in The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A March 19, 2025 The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook's industry-defining research and best-in-class data 🏔️ Private debt has continued its ascent as a broader range of investors seeks reliable returns amid volatility. Global private debt fundraising neared $200 billion last year, and direct lending assets reached $678.5 billion, according to our 2024 Annual Global Private Debt Report, sponsored by the American Investment Council. The private credit industry is evolving, marked by increasing collaboration between banks and private credit firms. Perpetual-life vehicles continue to post strong growth, tailored to wealth and insurance channels. ⚾ Sixth Street stepped up to the plate with a 10% stake in the San Francisco Giants, marking the latest PE move into professional sports. The investment will help fund stadium renovations and a neighboring real estate project, as MLB continues to attract private capital. Full story 🤓 Nerdio became a unicorn after the cloud computing management startup raised a $500 million Series C led by General Atlantic. Cloudtech and DevOps startups, which provide infrastructure and tools for enterprise clients, have seen growing investment amid the AI boom. Read more Plus... • Why are the acquisition prospects for climate-tech companies? • AI is driving fintech forward despite market volatility • Partners Group plans to buy a California gas power portfolio for $2.2 billion Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.   Wiz's $32B sale signals a rapid-growth era Yellow Dog Productions/Getty Images Wiz is no stranger to setting records. With its $32 billion sale to Google, the cloud security startup cemented the largest acquisition of a venture-backed company. Wiz's sale price is more than 50% above what Google was willing to pay for it less than a year ago. The valuation vaults it past other high-growth startups with similar revenue growth. Investors say it's all part of a new era of rapid growth for AI startups that some fear will set the bar too high for other startups looking for an exit. Share:   A message from McDermott Will & Emery   The future of health and life sciences investing starts here Join C-Suite executives, innovative founders, and business development professionals in Nashville for McDermott HealthEx – a new conference experience that brings McDermott Will & Emery's signature health and life sciences events together for one transformative week. Experience our renowned content and connect with decision-makers across 10 different programs. The fun doesn't stop there – McDermott HealthEx is the premier spot to deepen relationships and grow your network. With plenty of meeting space and receptions offered every night, you'll make valuable connections to supercharge your growth. And don't miss our Grand Reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame, where you can rock out to the greatest hits from an All Star Jam featuring Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd and John Elefante former lead singer of KANSAS. Secure your spot today Share:   Can your climate-tech company find a buyer? The companies targeting climate-tech acquisitions form a smaller field than that of SaaS or fintech by a wide margin, and acquisition interest varies wildly by niche. But that's not to say there aren't opportunities, especially in fields like intermittent renewables and sustainable foods, according to PitchBook's 2024 Climate Tech M&A Review. Senior emerging tech analyst John MacDonagh dove into a database of over 10,000 companies to map the M&A outlook for the sector, which is facing an uncertain few years as future federal support hangs in the balance. read it now   Share: Partners Group buys $2.2B California gas power portfolio (Vithun Khamsong/Getty Images) Partners Group has agreed to acquire a portfolio of natural gas power plants in California from Avenue Capital Group, along with the operator of the plants, for $2.2 billion, and stands to benefit from power demand growth coupled with a need for improved grid reliability in the state. The deal comprises 11 power plants with a combined capacity of 1.9 gigawatts and its operator, Middle River Power. The latter uses on-site battery energy storage systems at its gas-fired plants, creating hybrid energy centers that utilize surplus renewable energy to charge batteries. read more   Share: AI driving fintech forward despite market volatility Fintech continues to show remarkable resilience despite market turbulence, with industry participants remaining bullish even as the S&P 500 tumbled 4.3% during Fintech Meetup 2025 last week. The sector's confidence stems largely from AI's evolution from experimentation to implementation. This technological edge is accelerating growth trajectories, enabling top AI startups to reach ARR milestones at record speeds. Our latest analyst note recaps 12 points from the conference that showcase the fintech industry's untapped potential, which is currently just 3% of the $14 trillion global financial services market. read the note   Share:   Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: 722 Deals 2624 People 676 Companies 36 Funds See what our data software can do   The Daily Benchmark: 2022 Vintage Global Real Assets Funds Median IRR 7.91% Top Quartile IRR 17.24% 0.04x Median DPI Select top performers PA Real Assets Fund III DDE II GCM US Partnership Opportunities *IRR: net of fees 33 Funds in Benchmark » Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks   People   TPG has appointed Jennifer Chu as chief legal officer and general counsel, succeeding Bradford Berenson. Chu previously spent 18 years at Debevoise & Plimpton.   VC Deals   AI-powered coding assistant Cognition AI has reached a valuation approaching $4 billion after receiving funding in the hundreds of millions led by 8VC, Bloomberg reported. AI code review platform Graphite has raised a $52 million Series B led by Accel. Enterprise coding optimization company TurinTech has emerged from stealth with $20 million across a $15 million Series A led by Oxford Capital and $5 million in seed funding. Brain.space, a Tel Aviv-based neurotechnology startup, raised an $11 million Series A led by Toyota Ventures.   PitchBook webinar: Focus on private credit CLOs Late 2024 saw the debut of Europe's first CLO backed primarily by private credit debt—setting the stage for a wave of similar deals in 2025. But what's next for the market? In this webinar, we'll examine the significance of this event and provide a general market update on key private credit developments, as well as an overall leveraged finance update for 2025 so far. Key topics include: How will CLO issuance shape the private credit market in 2025? What is next for private credit debt in Europe? How does M&A activity compare to projections? Register now to secure your spot. Share:   PE Deals   TA Associates made a strategic growth investment in Nous Infosystem, which helps improve business models with technology and digital solutions. Marketing service firm 2X has received a growth investment from Insight Partners, following on an investment from Recognize two years prior. Summit Partners made a growth investment in Cenosco, a Netherlands-based software developer specializing in asset integrity management. Fashion retailer Guess has received a take-private offer at $13 per share from WHP Group via its investment arm WHP Investments. PartnerOne has acquired NetWitness, a threat detection and cybersecurity company from RSA. Mainsail Partners has provided $45 million of growth capital to Inn-Flow, a software company specializing in software management tools. Alight, a Swedish power company backed by the infrastructure arm of CVC Capital Partners, acquired its first solar park in Denmark, the 215 MWp Lidso project. Cordillera Investment Partners invested $10 million in the Professional Triathletes Organisation, an athlete-owned organization that puts on triathlon events globally.   Exits   The Indian unit of LG Electronics obtained approval for a potential $1.5 billion IPO. New York-based American Industrial Partners has sold EnTrans International, a manufacturer of tank trailers and transportation solutions, to Toronto-listed Terravest Industries. Kinderhook Industries has closed its sale of Dealer Products Holdings, a manufacturer of functional vehicle accessories, to RealTruck. Blue Point Capital has completed its sale of Sylvan to E3Tech while also making a rollover investment in the industrial contracting services company.   Fundraising   Cendana Capital has closed its sixth flagship fund-of-funds—focused on investing in sub-$100 million pre-seed and seed funds—at a $400 million hard cap. Paris-based life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners has closed Sofinnova Biovelocita II on €165 million. Just Climate, Al Gore's nature-based climate solutions fund, has raised $175 million from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and CalSTRS. Industrial investor Carr Hill Partners has secured $210 million in its inaugural fund, surpassing its $175 million target. New State Capital Partners has closed its fourth eponymous fund on $700 million.     Chart of the Day   Source: Carlyle, TPG, Ares removed DEI language from annual reports as legal risks heighten   Who's in the newsletter today? People Bradford Berenson Jennifer Chu Investors 8VC Accel Al Gore Alight American Industrial Partners Blue Point Capital CVC Capital Partners CalSTRS Carr Hill Partners Cendana Capital Cordillera Investment Partners Insight Partners Just Climate Kinderhook Industries Mainsail Partners Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund New State Capital Partners PartnerOne Recognize Sofinnova Partners Summit Partners TA Associates TPG Toyota Ventures WHP Group infrastructure arm Companies 2X Brain.space Cenosco Cognition AI E3Tech EnTrans International Graphite Guess Indian unit Inn-Flow LG Electronics Lidso project NetWitness Nous Infosystem Oxford Capital Professional Triathletes Organisation RSA RealTruck Sylvan Terravest Industries TurinTech Service Providers Debevoise & Plimpton     About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact Follow us: This email was sent to abdulkerim.bosnia.business@blogger.com via the PitchBook Platform. 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