Olympus Cosmetic Group, a platform providing cosmetic surgery, dermatological treatments and non-surgical cosmetic procedures backed by VSS Capital Partners, has completed the acquisition of Artisan Plastic Surgery and Artisan Beauté (Artisan). Artisan is a female-founded and managed cosmetic surgery and medspa enterprise. While financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, VSS made an additional investment to support Olympus’ first acquisition. Headquartered in Atlanta, Artisan provides both surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures to patients. VSS has previous experience ..read more

Independent European infrastructure fund manager Arjun Infrastructure Partners has held the final close of its Infrastructure Alliance Europe 2 fund with total capital commitments of €1.1bn, with an additional €300m allocated to its co-investment program. Arjun received commitments from its existing, long-term institutional investor base in Europe as well as substantial investor interest in both fund and co-investment opportunities from North America. Launched in 2022 as a successor to the €1bn Infrastructure Alliance Europe 1 fund, IAE-2 adopts a mid-market investment strategy focusing on lon ..read more

Global alternative asset management firm TPG has closed its eighth Asia-focused private equity fund, TPG Asia VIII, and TPG AG Asia Realty Fund V and the TPG AG Japan Realty Value Funds, with combined commitments in excess of $8bn. The real estate funds are the firm’s first since it completed its acquisition of TPG Angelo Gordon in November 2023. The fundraising brings TPG’s total Asia AUM to over $35bn, which is diversified across dedicated Asia-focused private equity, real estate and secondaries, as well as the firm’s investments in the region through its global growth and impact funds. TPG ..read more

Alternative credit asset manager Benefit Street Partners has held the final close of BSP Special Situations Fund II and its affiliated vehicles which were oversubscribed with approximately $850m in capital commitments. Fund II will seek to continue the investment approach of its predecessor fund. BSP’s special situations platform aims to provide solutions to borrowers unable to access traditional markets, leveraging its vast experience in stressed and distressed situations. Since inception of the platform, the special situations team has deployed over $3bn ..read more

Private equity funds affiliated with Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners have completed their previously announced acquisition of Energy Exemplar, a global provider of energy market simulation software solutions. Energy Exemplar’s cloud software suite, headlined by PLEXOS and Aurora, is used for short-term analysis to long-term planning studies. In a press statement, David Wilson, CEO of Energy Exemplar, said: “Completing our transaction with Blackstone and Vista marks the beginning of an exciting partnership that will accelerate investment in our leading SaaS platform providing accurate simu ..read more

An affiliate of Turnspire Capital Partners will acquire the nutraceuticals business of Ashland, a provider of proprietary nutrition ingredients and custom formulation services to nutritional product companies. Ashland’s nutraceuticals business offers custom formulation and contract manufacturing capabilities for the nutrition market, across formula design, ingredient sourcing and finished product manufacturing. The business employs approximately 500 across four production facilities in New Jersey and Utah in the US, and Tamaulipas, Mexico. Completion of the transaction is expected in Q3 2024 ..read more

Japanese multinational investment company SoftBank Group has been considering the acquisition of Graphcore, a UK semiconductor startup that has faced challenges despite a previous valuation of $2.8bn, according to a report by Bloomberg.  Bloomberg’s unnamed sources revealed that SoftBank’s discussions have been ongoing for several months and have recently progressed to more detailed negotiations, although the financial terms are yet to be finalised. The possibility of the talks falling through still exists, and a final agreement is not expected in the immediate future. According to t ..read more

Law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher has opened a new office in Dallas, which will be supported by a team of seven Partners, three of whom have just joined the business – Tom Tippetts, Brandon McCoy and Chase Proctor. In addition, existing Partners Tony Johnston, Jessica Sheridan, Archie Fallon and Sarah McLean, who have strong private equity experience, will also be based in Dallas. According to a press statement, each member of the team supporting the opening has experience in the Dallas market, particularly in private equity and M&A across various industries. The Dallas opening brings ..read more

Vistra has secured authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) to provide fund administration services from Ireland. To support the expansion, Vistra Funds Services (Ireland) has appointed Aimee Gill, CEO and Head of Fund Accounting; Paul McDonald, Head of Investor Services; and Jacqueline Evbodaghe, Head of Risk and Compliance. According to a press statement, Vistra’s expansion into fund administration services in Ireland aligns with its strategic growth ambitions and reflects its commitment to providing a “high quality and seamless end-to-end service for its clients”.   ..read more

Cap10, a specialist pan-European private equity firm based in London, has appointed Luca Bonanomi as Partner. Bonanomi has spent the last decade at Blackstone, most recently as a Managing Director in the firm’s private equity group. In his new role, Bononami will be responsible for targeting unique investment opportunities and further establishing and scaling the Cap10 business in the mid-market space alongside existing Partners, Founding Partner Fabrice Nottin and CFO and COO Mandar Kulkarni. Bonanami’s investing experience focuses on primary transactions across industrial niches, healthcare ..read more