• The biggest oil refiner in Japan is making a bet on renewable energy. On Japan Renewable Energy, to be precise. Eneos Holdings is nearing a deal to buy the Tokyo-based company for more than 200 billion yen (nearly $1.8 billion), according to a Nikkei report, a move that would result in a full exit for current JRE backers Goldman Sachs and GIC. The name is honest: JRE develops solar, wind and other renewable energy projects in Japan, with 419 KW of capacity currently in operation and another 458 KW under construction. Nikkei says the deal will be Eneos' first major acquisition in the renewables space.
• Home fitness brand iFit is the latest company to postpone a planned IPO in the U.S. because of unfavorable market conditions. The move came despite a stock-market rally on Thursday morning after lawmakers in Washington reached a deal to increase the U.S. debt ceiling through early December. September was the most volatile month on Wall Street since the early days of the pandemic, with the S&P 500 sliding nearly 5%, causing many companies to reconsider IPO plans. iFit, which owns the NordicTrack brand, had hoped to raise nearly $650 million and attain a $6.6 billion valuation through a listing on the Nasdaq.
• Shares in Life Time Group traded slightly down today after the Minneapolis-based fitness chain conducted a downsized IPO on the NYSE, another data point to support the thesis that the reception for public debuts could be cooling off. The portfolio company of Leonard Green & Partners raised $702 million by selling 39 million shares for $18 apiece, at the low end of its expected range. Life Time had indicated plans last week to offer 46.2 million shares for as much as $21 each. Its stock is at $17.72 as of this writing in the late afternoon, down 1.5% on the day and good for a market cap of $3.5 billion.
• Evan Spiegel has joined the board of directors at KKR, becoming the private equity firm's 11th independent director. The 31-year-old founder and CEO of Snap checks in at No. 55 on the newly released Forbes 400, with a net worth of $13.8 billion. This appears to be the first board seat he has taken outside of Snap. The only four members of KKR's board who work for the firm are co-CEOs Henry Kravis and George Roberts and co-presidents Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall.
• Manufacturing conglomerate Emerson Electric is in discussions about a deal to merge its software assets with Aspen Technology and take control of the combined company, according to a Bloomberg report, a move that could create a major new player in the industrial software space. Shares of AspenTech were up more than 9% today, taking its market cap north of $9 billion. The Massachusetts-based company makes asset optimization software for industrial companies. Emerson shares rose about 2% today, giving it a $58.3 billion market cap as of this writing. Overall, Emerson stock is up more than 20% this year, which could make it an attractive currency in any deal.
• Skyscrapers require a lot of energy. What if they could generate it, too? That's the idea at the heart of Blueprint Power, which unveiled a deal today to be acquired by BP. Founded in New York in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Blueprint makes software that helps buildings use energy more efficiently. It also connects buildings to outside energy markets, allowing them to save up and then sell excess power, or even power that was generated through on-site solar panels. The company says its clients in New York's commercial real estate market currently generate 13 MW of renewable power, with plans to increase that figure to 36 MW by the end of next year under BP's ownership. The acquisition is another step in BP's long path toward trying to make its operations more environmentally friendly.
• In a takeover reportedly worth $2 billion, Blackstone agreed to acquire a controlling stake in VFS Global, a provider of outsourced visa processing services for governments, from fellow private equity heavyweight EQT. The Swedish firm purchased VFS in 2016 through the larger takeover of Kuoni Group; it turned around and sold Kuoni's other business units a year later. For Blackstone, the investment is in part a bet on travel and tourism bouncing back from pandemic-induced declines. More travel means more visas.
• First, it set out to build a coffee empire. Is pet-care next? JAB Holding, the investor that manages the fortune of Germany's rather controversial Reimann family, is aiming to raise a $5 billion fund from outside investors to make more investments in the pet sector, deepening its bet on an industry that's seen surging sales amid the pandemic. JAB reportedly raised a prior $6 billion last year to invest in the space, with recent deals including the $1.2 billion purchase of Compassion-First Pet Hospitals and a $1.65 billion takeover of Ethos Veterinary Health. With its history in the coffee space, JAB has a track record of deploying huge sums of capital to support a single thematic bet. Its related portfolio companies include Keurig Dr Pepper, Caribou Coffee, Krispy Kreme and JDE Peet's.
• Private equity firms are doing more deals—and doing those deals on faster timelines—than ever before. So it only makes sense that the fundraising cycle is accelerating, too. Francisco Partners plans to begin soliciting commitments for its seventh flagship fund later this year, according to The Wall Street Journal, despite having closed its previous flagship vehicle on $7.45 billion just 16 months ago, in June 2020. Since then, the tech-focused firm has announced or completed more than 60 acquisitions, according to PitchBook, including the $4 billion purchase of Boomi earlier this year (conducted jointly with TPG). Francisco Partners will reportedly target $10 billion for the new fund.
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