Matt Levin

The distressed debt and real estate specialist hopes to capitalise on an improving regulatory environment for buyouts of distressed assets in China.

The Marsh & McLennan spin-out has acquired a 51 percent stake in quoted Fiserv’s insurance technology division.

Sterling Investment Partners has acquired Miller Heiman three years after the company was purchased by politically-connected education specialist Leeds.

The state’s legislature has increased the Florida State Board of Administration’s allowable allocation to private equity and venture capital from 5 percent to 10 percent. The pension fund is also launching an infrastructure platform.

The JPMorgan private equity arm has submitted an undisclosed offer for Johnson & Johnson’s wound care division just a day after announcing a $110m investment in a CI Capital Partners holding company.

Respondents to a recent survey also said sovereign funds’ long-term strategy makes them more appealing than other LPs.

The corporate debt and real estate specialist has acquired CIT Group’s troubled Home Lending business, Lone Star’s third mortgage-related deal since October.

The $82bn Washington State Investment Board, known for its bullish stance on alternatives, had a -2 percent first quarter return on its private equity portfolio, slightly outperforming its benchmark. Executive Director Joseph Dear tells PEO, ‘we’re in this asset class to stay’.

The global buyout giant continues its high-profile hiring spree with the addition of James Burr to its financial services unit, which is reportedly raising a fund targeting more than $1bn.

The Greenwich-based firm, currently investing its second distressed debt fund, has sold Bayou Steel to global steel giant ArcelorMittal.