Texas-based alternative asset manager TPG and global investment group CDPQ have agreed to acquire Aareon, a European SaaS provider for the property industry valued at €3.9bn, from international property specialist Aareal Bank and US private equity firm Advent International. 

Aareal Bank’s equity stake in Aareon is valued at approximately € 2.1bn. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. 

TPG will invest in Aareon through TPG Capital, the firm’s US and European private equity platform, with CDPQ, whose co-investment will see it take a minority interest. 

Advent will invest new equity for a minority interest in Aaeron, while Aareal Bank and Aareon will continue to support their respective clients through their joint venture, First Financial Software, which provides payment software solutions for the property sector. 

In a statement, Jeff Paduch, a managing partner at Advent and a supervisory board member at Aareon, described the deal as “culminating in one of the largest software buyouts in Europe in 2024”.  

Aareon is headquartered in Mainz, Germany, and provides automated end-to-end processes between property managers and owners across the residential and commercial real estate sectors. 

CDPQ was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

European private equity major EQT, through its EQT Infrastructure VI fund, has agreed to acquire storage services provider Constellation Cold Logistics from Arcus Infrastructure Partners. 

EQT’s investment is expected to help Constellation expand within existing and new markets, both organically and through European M&A.  

The transaction is expected to close this October, after which EQT Infrastructure VI is expected to be 40-45% invested. 

Constellation provides temperature-controlled storage services to food producers, traders and retailers. The company was established in 2020 by Arcus Infrastructure Partners through a merger of three businesses located in Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands. 

Constellation currently owns and operates 26 large cold storage facilities across Western Europe and the Nordics, employing 700 people. It is expected to generate revenues over €150m this year. The company is currently led by CEO Carlos Rodriguez. 

EQT was advised by UBS, Roland Berger, Milbank and PwC. 

Global management consulting firm Kearney has added Grace Chieng and Marius Boersema as principals, Michael Schutte as senior manager and Sara Tan as associate to its private equity team. 

Chieng most recently worked in the strategy and transactions team at EY-Parthenon, Ernst & Young’s global strategy consulting arm, where she focused on pre- and post-acquisition projects.  

Boersema also joins from the strategy and transactions team at EY-Parthenon, having previously worked on operational due diligence and carve-outs across multiple sectors. He was also part of Montagu Private Equity’s operational excellence team, where he focused on value creation across their portfolio companies. 

 Schutte was previously at PwC within its deals strategy & operations practice, specialising in pre-deal operational due diligence, carve-out DD and synergy development. 

Tan has also joined from PwC’s deals strategy & operations team, having served as a manager. 

US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz will enter private equity with the launch of its inaugural fund, a16z Perennial Private Equity Fund, according to a report by Fortune citing US SEC filings. 

Details on the fund’s strategy and launch timeline remain undisclosed.  

The disclosure was made through Andreessen Horowitz’s wealth management division, Perennial, which oversees the financial affairs and philanthropic endeavours of entrepreneurs and investors associated with the firm. 

Perennial was started in 2022 by investor relations head Scott Kupor. Its investments are led by Michel Del Buono. The division focuses on bespoke wealth management services, estate planning and charitable giving, catering to UHNWIs and families. 

According to Fortune, through its family office division, Andreessen Horowitz expects to soon close two new funds: a real assets fund focused on real estate and a diversified investments fund.