PE Weekly: Dealmaking Targets Manufacturing, from Pharmaceuticals to Decking

Brightstar Acquires A&E Company Erdman. Brightstar Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, announced this week its acquisition of Erdman. The company is an architecture and engineering business specializing in the healthcare and senior living spaces.

TELEO Capital Carves out SmartFactory Rx. Private equity firm TELEO Capital Management announced its acquisition of SmartFactory Rx, a pharmaceutical manufacturing intelligence platform. TELEO acquired the company from Applied Materials and has rebranded it as Modersys.

Berkshire Partners Backs Harbourfront Wealth. Canada-based wealth management firm Harbourfront Wealth announced it received a strategic investment from private equity firm Berkshire Partners in a transaction valuing the company at about C$1.775 billion (about USD$1.25 billion). Harbourfront’s existing sponsor, Audax Private Equity, will retain a stake in the company.

Manufacturing deals

Platinum Equity to Acquire Tangent Technologies. Platinum Equity announced this week it entered into an agreement to acquire Tangent Technologies. The company manufactures synthetic materials for applications across outdoor living, marine, decking, fencing, infrastructure, and other industrial markets.

Latticework- and Edgehill-Backed LSC Acquires Two Businesses. Life Science Connect (LSC), a life sciences media business backed by Latticework Capital Management and Edgehill Management, has acquired two companies. PharmaSource and CDMO Live, both brands servicing the biopharma outsourcing sector, were acquired by LSC.

AEA’s Riviera Partners Acquires Lateral Labs. Executive search firm Riviera Partners, which specializes in technology leadership, has acquired Lateral Labs. The company specializes in recruiting for AI startups. Riviera is backed by AEA Partners.

Tech and services acquisitions

Thrive Acquires Incentiv for PE Compensation. Thrive TRM, a talent relationship management platform and subsidiary of Integrum Holdings-backed talent platform True, has acquired Incentiv. The company operates an executive compensation data network built by and for private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

Ara Partners Exits VAC to Strategic Buyer. Private equity firm Ara Partners has exited VAC, an advanced magnetics company, to publicly listed Energy Fuels Inc. The transaction values VAC at about $1.9 billion.

Private Lender Stellus Acquired by Ridgepost Capital. Publicly listed Ridgepost Capital, a private markets solution provider, has completed its acquisition of Stellus Capital Management, a direct lender specializing in the lower-middle market. The investment enhances Ridgepost’s private credit capabilities, an announcement said.

Blueflame AI Debuts Amp AI Agent. Blueflame AI, an AI solution for dealmakers and investment managers, announced the launch of its Amp solution this week. Amp is an AI agent designed for private equity, private credit, investment banking, M&A, and other dealmakers that supports natural language requests for a variety of workflows, including drafting diligence questions and analyzing portfolio reporting.