KKR & Co. Inc.

Realty Income Corporation announced on September 14 a European property venture in which capital accounts advised by KKR & Co. Inc. intend to invest €528 million for a 49% interest, with closing expected September 30 subject to customary conditions. Realty Income would receive approximately €528 million in gross proceeds while retaining 51% ownership and day-to-day asset management, and the contributed portfolio carries a 5.9% effective initial capitalization rate after recurring management fees. The structure gives Realty Income an option to redeem the partner's interest after year 10 and through year 17 at a capped internal rate of return expected at 6.3% to 6.5% and finalized at closing, and rating agencies are expected to treat the investment as 100% permanent equity. Insider Monkey's database showed 34 hedge funds holding Realty Income at the end of 2Q2026, up from 32 funds three months earlier. The company said the deal's value depends on execution, with closing terms, reinvestment returns, and fee profitability determining whether private capital improves shareholder economics beyond the initial cash proceeds.

Aon Plc confirmed on August 31 that it will buy USI Insurance Services from KKR & Co. Inc. for $17.0 billion in an all-cash deal funded by new debt. Aon expects $395 million in annual run-rate synergies, with the deal accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2028, and CEO Greg Case said the combination creates the "premier U.S. middle-market platform." KKR, USI's largest shareholder, expects to book about $3.3 billion in after-tax proceeds plus about $2 billion in adjusted net income; under KKR's ownership USI nearly tripled its revenue and completed more than 90 acquisitions. Aon plans to fund the entire $17 billion purchase with new debt and does not expect near-term share buybacks as it prioritizes debt repayment, and the acquisition builds on Aon's 2024 purchase of NFP. Aon shares fell in premarket trading on the news, Reuters reported.

Two competing private equity consortiums have emerged for GFL Environmental, setting up a bidding war over a target carrying $28 billion in combined equity value and debt, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday evening. KKR & Co., Energy Capital Partners, and Blackstone Inc. have formed one consortium, while Brookfield Asset Management and IFM Investors have teamed on a rival offer. GFL carries a market capitalization of roughly $18 billion alongside approximately $10 billion in debt, implying a total enterprise value approaching $28 billion. CEO Patrick Dovigi said on Bloomberg TV that he is open to taking the company private at a higher valuation than its current stock price and would roll his entire ownership stake into any transaction. GFL's special committee, formed in July after the company retained advisers following preliminary takeover interest, is expected to take time evaluating the competing proposals and could ask bidders to sharpen their offers, with a decision possible within weeks. At roughly $28 billion in enterprise value, a completed GFL transaction would rank just below the AES Corp. takeover, currently the largest announced North American LBO of 2026 at approximately $33 billion including debt.

NFP, the Aon-owned property and casualty broker and benefits consultant, has acquired Moores Insurance Management, a multi-disciplinary risk management company based in Minnesota, US. Established in 1987, Moores works with high-net-worth individuals and businesses across 43 states, offering P&C insurance services to both commercial and personal-risk clients. Under the agreement, Moores CEO Mark Moores will become senior vice-president of commercial P&C at NFP, reporting to Amanda Ruback, the company's managing director of P&C for the central region, while Moores president Jack Moores joins as senior vice-president of personal lines, reporting to Mary Mullen, senior vice-president of Personal Risk for NFP's central region. The terms of the transaction were not made public. The deal follows a string of recent acquisitions by NFP, including the retail cannabis insurance business of Frontier Risk Group last month and certain assets of Signature Personal Insurance in June, while NFP's parent company Aon agreed late last month to acquire insurance broker USI from private equity firm KKR and other shareholders in a deal valued at $17bn.

Apollo-managed funds and affiliates have closed a €3 billion capital solution for Bayer, first announced on July 10, with KKR joining as a significant minority participant. Under the transaction, Apollo and KKR invested equity capital into a newly established entity holding Bayer's long-acting reversible contraceptives business, while Bayer retains a majority stake and continues to exercise full operational control, with no changes to the LARC strategy. Apollo Partner Jamshid Ehsani said the firm originated and led the multi-billion-euro capital solution, adding that Apollo has committed to deploying more than $100 billion in Germany over the coming decade. Centerview Partners served as financial advisor to the Apollo Funds, with Latham & Watkins LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and NautaDutilh N.V. acting as legal counsel.

Realty Income and KKR plan to form a euro-denominated joint venture in which KKR will invest €528 million for a 49% stake, while Realty Income keeps 51% and continues managing the assets. The venture will hold 54 stabilized net lease properties across Spain, Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands, expected to generate €67.7 million of first-year cash net operating income, with 59% of base rent tied to investment-grade tenants and a 7.2-year weighted average remaining lease term. The portfolio is being contributed at a 5.9% initial cap rate after recurring management fees paid to Realty Income, KKR's return is expected to be capped at an internal rate of return of 6.3%-6.5%, and Realty Income can redeem KKR's stake between years 10 and 17. The deal extends a private-capital strategy that already reduced Realty Income's dependence on public equity, with public equity funding just 18% of investment volume in the first half of 2026 versus an average of 47% over the prior three years, and management fee income reaching $3.2 million in the second quarter. Realty Income raised its 2026 investment guidance to $10 billion from $9.5 billion after investing $5.3 billion in the first half, and the KKR venture is expected to close on Sept. 30.

Enbridge has announced three transactions in the past two weeks, including nearly $3.2 billion of acquisitions, as the Canadian energy infrastructure giant moves to strengthen its 5.8%-yielding dividend. On Aug. 26, Enbridge announced the acquisition of Salt Creek Midstream's crude oil gathering business for $600 million, adding 500 miles of crude oil gathering infrastructure in the core of the Delaware Basin. On Sept. 9, it unveiled a larger deal, agreeing to acquire Tallgrass Energy's crude oil business for $2.55 billion, which includes a 75% interest in the 1,050-mile Pony Express Pipeline, a 51% interest in the Powder River Gateway System, and 8.4 million barrels of storage capacity. Enbridge expects both acquisitions to be accretive to distributable cash flow per share within the first year, and the Tallgrass deal includes the PXP2 growth project, a $300 million expansion expected to enter service in late 2027. To help fund the deals, Enbridge announced a stock offering seeking to raise at least CA$2.6 billion, or $1.9 billion, while KKR and Apollo agreed on Aug. 27 to invest about CA$2.7 billion, or $2 billion, in a new joint venture supporting expansion of its Westcoast Pipeline System, with Enbridge receiving CA$700 million, or $505 million, in cash at closing.

Nvidia is partnering with Apollo Global Management, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to raise over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure, as Bank of America warns the sector may need about $1.2 trillion of external finance to support AI capital expenditures forecast to exceed $5 trillion between 2026 and 2030. Bank of America says major chip suppliers are taking on an unexpected role as credit intermediaries, helping remove financial risks that make massive AI data centers difficult or expensive to finance through minimum revenue commitments, take-or-pay contracts, and residual value guarantees. Broadcom's AI XPV Platform has secured senior notes and the remaining value of chips covering $31 billion of an initial $35 billion loan package arranged with Apollo and Blackstone, nearly 87% of the debt package, with the guaranteed portion priced at 5.75% against 8.5% for an unsecured second lien. In August, Nvidia said it would provide finance assistance for land, electricity, and construction at SB Energy's PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Ohio, with a first rollout of 4.25 gigawatts of AI factory capacity expected to be used by OpenAI, and Nvidia also said it was investing $1.5 billion in SB Energy. Broadcom on Sept. 2 reported $16.7 billion in AI semiconductor sales for its fiscal third quarter, up 221% from a year earlier, and CEO Hock Tan said the company expects AI semiconductor revenue of about $21.7 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, an increase of 236% year-over-year.

KKR & Co. Inc. has agreed to acquire A1 Garage Door Service, a Phoenix-based residential garage door repair and replacement company, for around $2 billion, according to Reuters, which cited sources familiar with the matter. A1 was founded in 2007 by CEO Tommy Mello and operates in roughly 20 states, having taken growth capital from private equity firm Cortec Group in 2022. The deal extends a wave of home services consolidation, following Oak Hill Capital's more than $800 million purchase of Guild Garage Group earlier this year, with valuations for scaled garage-door and overhead-access platforms reaching historic highs of 12 to 16 times EBITDA in 2026, driven by non-discretionary repair demand and target margins of 18% to 22%, according to industry data. The transaction builds on KKR's existing residential services footprint, which includes Neighborly, a franchiser of plumbing, pest control, electrical, and HVAC brands acquired in 2021, and a significant 2023 investment in Groundworks, a foundation and water-management services provider.

Vistra has signed 20-year power purchase agreements with Meta Platforms for more than 2,600 MW across its PJM nuclear fleet and with AWS for up to 1,200 MW of carbon-free power at Comanche Peak, anchoring its generation platform through mid-century. The deals sit atop a merchant fleet rebuilt for AI load growth: the Cogentrix close adds a 5,500-MW natural gas portfolio across the Midwest, Northeast and California, layered on the 2,600-MW Lotus portfolio closed in November 2025, plus two new Permian Basin gas units totaling 860 MW under construction. Q2 2026 Ongoing Operations Adjusted EBITDA rose more than 30% to $1.77 billion from $1.35 billion on revenue of $4.02 billion, with 2026 guidance reaffirmed at $6.80B to $7.60B and a 2027 midpoint opportunity of $7.40B to $7.80B that still excludes Cogentrix and Meta; CFO Chris Moldovan said those could add roughly $700 million to the midpoint. Vistra also committed up to $1.0 billion to Helix Digital Infrastructure alongside NVIDIA, KKR and the Kuwait Investment Authority, where it is the preferred power provider, with CEO Jim Burke saying milestones could trigger an additional $500 million. Risks remain: unrealized mark-to-market hedging losses of $472 million hit Q2 GAAP results, Moss Landing decommissioning costs sit in the Asset Closure segment, and Moldovan warned the 2027 range would trend toward the lower end on softer ERCOT forwards.

South Korean fashion retailer Musinsa has filed for a preliminary review by the Korea Exchange, advancing toward a Kospi main board listing. A spokesperson confirmed the submission on September 7, with the company backed by KKR. The IPO could value Musinsa at up to 10 trillion won ($7.42 billion), ranking among South Korea's largest listings in recent years. Musinsa plans to go public in late 2026 or early 2027, having posted revenue exceeding 5 trillion won last year. Co-CEO Nam Cho targets 3 trillion won in overseas sales by 2030, with China contributing a third. The company operates two online marketplaces, Musinsa and 29cm, and recently signed a distribution deal with ACX Holdings to enter the Philippines' offline retail market. A successful IPO would boost Seoul's primary listings market, which has slowed this year.

Institutional investors are beginning to allocate capital to the evergreen private market funds that Blackstone and KKR originally built for wealthy individuals, according to the Financial Times. Evergreen funds allow investors to access capital at set intervals rather than locking it up for a decade-long private equity fund life. Blackstone's wealth business has seen institutions begin allocating to its evergreen products, though they currently make up only a small proportion of the capital raised, said Joan Solotar, who leads that business. KKR has separately raised the share of deals its evergreen K-Series funds can take from a longstanding 7.5% cap to as much as 20% in some cases, including its $8 billion European Fund VI. This institutional adoption could help Blackstone and KKR expand their wealth-management businesses beyond traditional individual investors, though institutional flows remain modest and may weaken if traditional private equity improves its ability to return capital.

Aon's largest-ever acquisition, the $17 billion purchase of USI Insurance Services from KKR, will add $17 billion in borrowed funds and delay earnings benefits, with the net purchase price coming to $16.7 billion after accounting for certain tax attributes. The deal, announced on August 31, 2026, is the second multibillion-dollar middle-market insurance acquisition Aon has pursued in three years, following its $13 billion purchase of NFP in 2024. Aon plans to issue $17.5 billion in new debt, including a $4 billion term loan and $13.5 billion in senior notes, which will push leverage to an estimated 4.8 times adjusted EBITDA at closing, nearly double the 2.8 times ratio before the announcement. S&P Global Ratings revised Aon's outlook to negative, while Moody's shifted to stable, citing leverage and integration concerns. The deal will freeze share buybacks, and Aon expects the acquisition to become accretive to adjusted earnings per share only in 2028, implying dilution through 2027. USI, the tenth-largest U.S. insurance broker with about $3 billion in annual revenue, gives Aon access to the middle-market commercial insurance segment, estimated at over $40 billion, and combined with NFP, the platform is expected to generate $6.5 billion in revenue.

Nvidia is investing billions across the AI industry that ultimately buys its chips, and prominent economist Tyler Cowen says that could make the boom more durable rather than proving it a bubble. Cowen told the Prof G Markets podcast that Nvidia acts as a kind of lender or buyer of last resort for the sector, with Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta playing similar roles. He argued that new technologies often need help getting off the ground, and the huge capital flowing into AI gives it a better chance of succeeding. Nvidia has committed up to $10 billion to Anthropic and, in August, partnered with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR on platforms to mobilize over $500 billion for AI infrastructure. It also agreed to guarantee up to $105 billion of OpenAI-linked lease obligations at SB Energy's Ohio data-center campus and invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, becoming the exclusive AI compute provider there. Cowen dismissed the bubble debate, comparing the boom to automobiles in the 1920s, and said investors should ask whether the product works, to which the answer is clearly yes. He cautioned that debt-financed data centers could cause bad macro consequences if the boom reverses, but the fallout would likely fall well short of the 2008 crisis.

Integer Holdings Corporation has entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. in a transaction with an enterprise value of $5.7 billion. Under the deal, each eligible Integer share will be converted into the right to receive $127 in cash, without interest. The transaction requires approval by a majority of Integer's outstanding shares and applicable antitrust and foreign investment clearances, but it is not subject to a financing condition. The agreement includes a $307 million parent termination fee if Integer ends the deal under specified circumstances involving a buyer breach. Integer has withdrawn its financial outlook and canceled its second-quarter earnings call, as merger progress now takes precedence over operating targets. Second-quarter sales fell 2.6% year over year to $464.1 million, and gross margin contracted to 24.3% from 27.1%. If completed, Integer will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the buyer and its shares will be delisted from the NYSE.

KKR, a leading global investment firm, has entered into a definitive agreement to make a minority investment in Avisena Healthcare, a Malaysian healthcare provider, to support the expansion of its multi-specialty offerings and the development of new greenfield hospitals in the Klang Valley. Avisena, founded in 1996, operates two hospitals in Shah Alam with over 250 licensed beds, and plans to add more than 300 beds by 2029, bringing total capacity to nearly 600. KKR has invested over US$20 billion in global healthcare since 2004, with regional portfolio companies including Medical Saigon Group and Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings. The investment is subject to customary closing conditions.

NetSPI and Synack have announced a definitive agreement to merge, creating the industry's leading offensive cybersecurity platform. The combined company, which will have over $200 million in revenue, pairs elite white-hat hackers with agentic AI to deliver security validation at scale. Serving top cloud providers, major U.S. banks, MAMAA companies, the Fortune 100, and U.S. federal agencies, the merger brings together nearly 40 years of combined operating history and over 13 million hours of real-world offensive testing experience. KKR will support the combined company's growth plan, including investments in technology and product development. The transaction is expected to close in October 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Wella, the beauty company owned by KKR, has filed for an initial public offering in the United States. In its filing, Wella reported full-year fiscal 2026 net sales of $2.9 billion, up 9.2 percent, and net income of $62 million, compared with a loss of $7.7 million the prior year. Within its portfolio, the Wella brand generated over $1 billion in net revenue, while GHD brought in $478 million. Reuters has reported that the IPO could value the company at more than the $4.3 billion KKR paid for it. KKR recently appointed Calvin McDonald, former CEO of Lululemon, to lead Wella as it prepares to go public.

KKR announced the appointments of Jonty Edwards and Paula Weisshuber as Managing Directors in its Credit & Markets business, strengthening its European credit and capital markets capabilities. Weisshuber, based in Frankfurt, joins from Bank of America where she was Head of EMEA Corporate Debt Capital Markets, and will expand coverage across the DACH region. Edwards, based in London, joins from J.P. Morgan where he was a Managing Director in Mergers & Acquisitions, and will focus on capital solutions for UK and European businesses. KKR's global Credit platform manages approximately $293 billion in assets as of June 30, 2026.

STTGDC announced the completion of its acquisition by a KKR-led consortium comprising funds managed by global investment firm KKR and Singtel, and unveiled a refreshed global brand, marking the start of its next chapter as a global digital infrastructure platform. The transaction strengthens STTGDC's ability to scale AI-ready digital infrastructure, with long-term capital, increased financial flexibility, and the consortium's global infrastructure experience supporting continued growth. Customers will be served by the same leadership team and operating discipline that have underpinned the company's growth for over a decade. Since the end of 2025, operational capacity has increased by 25% to 780MW, contracted capacity has grown by 50%, and annualised EBITDA has risen by 30%. The company has close to 2GW of powered land secured for assets under construction and pipeline development, and in India operates 34 data centres across 10 cities with more than 613MW of IT capacity, while in Indonesia it is advancing a pipeline of over 360MW of AI-ready capacity. In Singapore, STTGDC was selected to develop 50MW of sustainable, AI-ready capacity, and 83.2% of its electricity consumption comes from renewable energy, surpassing its 2028 carbon intensity reduction target three years early.

KKR & Co. Inc. has agreed to sell USI Insurance Services to Aon plc for $17 billion, a deal that will generate $3.3 billion in after-tax proceeds and $2 billion in adjusted net income, or more than $2 per share. KKR first invested in USI in 2017 at a $4.3 billion valuation, and under its ownership, USI's revenues nearly tripled, with over 90 acquisitions expanding its reach. The sale price represents roughly six times KKR's original equity investment and 3.4 times the total balance-sheet capital invested. The transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, highlights KKR's Strategic Holdings strategy, which allows direct participation in investment appreciation. This deal follows similar divestitures by Deutsche Bank and Northern Trust, and KKR's shares have gained 16.2% in the past three months.

KKR, the alternative-asset manager and insurance investor, climbed about 1.6% to $110.38 Monday after striking a $17 billion deal to sell USI Insurance Services to Aon. KKR and its partners bought the insurance brokerage in 2017 before the firm expanded its stake. The payoff is enormous: KKR's official announcement estimates $3.3 billion in after-tax proceeds and roughly $2 billion in adjusted net income, worth more than $2 per share. The exit is expected to deliver six times KKR's original equity investment and 3.4 times the total balance-sheet capital deployed. Those cash proceeds represent roughly 3.2% of KKR's market capitalization, but the bigger win is the validation of Strategic Holdings, whose remaining portfolio generates approximately $3.5 billion in attributable adjusted revenue and $800 million in EBITDA, giving investors a clearer view of the earnings sitting beyond traditional fees and carried interest. At $110.38, the shares trade 17.25% below the $133.39 GF Value estimate, and the USI deal shows the capital-compounding engine works; the next exits will determine whether KKR can keep repeating it.

Insurance broker Aon announced on the 31st that it will acquire USI Insurance Services, a U.S. peer, from private equity firm KKR for approximately $17 billion. This is one of the largest deals in the insurance industry in recent years. Through this acquisition, Aon will further strengthen its business foundation in the growing U.S. middle-market insurance sector. CEO Greg Case said that USI will significantly enhance its presence in the middle-market segment and expand opportunities in the excess and surplus lines business. The U.S. middle-market insurance market is estimated to be over $40 billion, accounting for more than one-third of U.S. commercial property and casualty direct premiums written. Aon previously acquired NFP, a middle-market insurance broker, for about $13 billion in 2024, and this acquisition will also bolster its health, talent, and human capital advisory businesses. USI, founded in 1994, is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm that has grown into the 10th largest insurance intermediary in the U.S. with annual revenue of about $3 billion. The insurance brokerage industry has seen a series of large deals recently, including Arthur J. Gallagher's acquisition of AssuredPartners for $13.5 billion and Brown & Brown's acquisition of Accession Risk Management for about $10 billion. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter and is projected to boost Aon's adjusted earnings by 2028. The deal will be financed with debt, and the company plans to suspend share buybacks for the time being to prioritize debt repayment. USI CEO Mike Sicard will become president of Aon and global CEO of its middle-market division upon completion of the acquisition. For KKR, the sale of USI represents a major investment exit, and KKR recorded its largest quarterly realized proceeds in the second quarter. USI was acquired by KKR and Canadian pension fund manager CDPQ in 2017 for about $4.3 billion, with KKR later increasing its stake to become the largest shareholder. During KKR's ownership, USI's revenue grew approximately threefold. According to KKR, the deal is expected to generate a return of about six times its initial 2017 investment and about 3.4 times on a total invested capital basis, with approximately $2 billion in adjusted earnings from the transaction.

KKR & Co. Inc. has made a roughly $9 billion takeover offer for natural-gas and electricity distributor UGI Corp at $42.50 a share, a 21% premium to UGI's $35.09 close, as reported by The Wall Street Journal on August 18, 2026. The offer values UGI well above its roughly $7.5 billion market value at August 17's close, but it's unclear whether UGI will be receptive to a deal. Surging demand for reliable power from AI data centers has turned previously overlooked natural-gas utilities into hot takeover targets, and KKR's bid follows a pattern of profitable deals in this sector, such as Energy Capital Partners' sale of Calpine to Constellation Energy. However, natural-gas prices have dropped recently due to strong US production and full storage tanks, which could limit near-term gains for a gas-focused company. The deal remains unconfirmed with no signed agreement, leaving investors exposed to the risk that it falls apart.

Enbridge Inc. has signed an agreement with KKR to establish a joint venture that will fund two major expansion projects on its Westcoast natural gas pipeline system, with KKR and Apollo providing approximately C$2.7 billion, including a $700 million cash payment to Enbridge at closing. In return, the investors will receive a 29% indirect interest in the aggregate Westcoast pipeline system after the Sunrise expansion comes online. The Aspen Point Expansion is expected to become operational in 2026, and the Sunrise Expansion is scheduled to enter service in 2028. Enbridge will maintain majority ownership and control, and it has an option to repurchase the investors' stake between the seventh and 14th year after the deal closes. The projects have regulatory approvals and are backed by long-term take-or-pay contracts, providing revenue visibility and aligning with Enbridge's capital-recycling strategy.

KKR has formed a new joint venture with Enbridge and Apollo to invest in the Westcoast Pipeline System in Canada, expanding its role in natural gas infrastructure. The partnership brings together energy, infrastructure, and investment specialists to commit significant long-term capital to Canadian midstream assets. Separately, KKR has closed the acquisition of Ci FLAVORS, a Japanese beauty and lifestyle company, adding a new consumer platform in Japan. These moves broaden KKR's exposure across energy infrastructure and consumer sectors in different regions.

Apollo Global Management and KKR have announced a strategic partnership to support the continued growth of Atlantic Aviation, one of the largest private aviation infrastructure platforms in the United States. Under the transaction, Apollo-managed funds have acquired a significant interest in the company, while KKR-managed funds remain a substantial shareholder, valuing Atlantic Aviation at nearly $10 billion. Atlantic Aviation provides fixed-base operator services, including aircraft fueling and hangar leasing, across the country. Since KKR's acquisition in 2021, the company has expanded its locations through strategic acquisitions and organic growth. Apollo Partner David Cohen and KKR Partner Dash Lane both expressed confidence in the company's future, citing structural tailwinds in the private aviation market and the strength of the platform.

SK Telecom announced it will spin off its subsidiary SK Broadband into a surviving company and a new AI data center company, SK Horizon, securing a combined KRW 3.08 trillion equity investment from KKR and the IMM Investment-Stonebridge consortium. The spin-off ratio is set at approximately 0.84 for the surviving company and 0.16 for the new company. SK Horizon will manage eight existing data centers and new ones under construction, targeting a total capacity of 318 MW, while SK Hyper will develop GW-scale projects with a goal of 5 GW by 2029 and 15 GW by 2035. KKR and IMM will hold 29% and 20% stakes respectively, with SKT retaining 51% and management control. The spin-off is expected to complete in the first quarter of next year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Industrial Physics, the global packaging, material, and coating test and measurement group backed by KKR-affiliated investment funds, has acquired Vitrek, a US-based provider of electronic test and precision measurement equipment, from Branford Castle Fund, LP. Vitrek, which includes the Vitrek, MTI, and GaGe brands, makes electrical safety testing equipment, power analyzers, engine vibration balancing systems, and precision measurement instruments for aerospace, defense, semiconductor, and medical device customers. The acquisition extends Industrial Physics' reach into mission-critical testing markets, and KKR will extend its broad-based employee ownership program to all Vitrek employees. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the transaction closed upon signing.

Nvidia has announced partnerships with Apollo, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to launch compute financing platforms aimed at raising over $500 billion for AI infrastructure, with CEO Jensen Huang saying Nvidia could backstop up to $125 billion, or 25%, of potential deals. Blackstone President Jon Gray said on CNBC that AI compute will be seen as a financeable asset class, similar to how mortgage lenders assess homes. The move comes amid rising skepticism about AI spending, and Nvidia shares fell after the deal was first reported, erasing more than $70 billion in market value. Blackstone, one of six partners, has seen AI compute demand across its portfolio companies surge sevenfold this year and has prior experience financing AI infrastructure for companies like Anthropic. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink compared this moment to the creation of mortgage-backed investments in the 1970s, but commentators have flagged circular financing concerns, and Moody's has warned that heavy capex is squeezing free cash flow and pushing tech giants toward more debt.

Two parties have started formal due diligence on Qiagen as part of the molecular diagnostics provider's strategic review, with a sale price of around $50 a share being discussed. The due diligence began last week, according to a CTFN report citing people familiar with the matter, though the parties could still walk away without making an offer and Qiagen could remain standalone. The report follows Qiagen's announcement that Jonathan M. Pratt was appointed CEO effective September 1, and Bloomberg reported that private equity firms EQT AB and KKR & Co. are among those exploring offers. Qiagen CEO Thierry Bernard said in March the company was working with Moelis & Co. and Goldman Sachs to review strategic alternatives.

KKR has signed definitive agreements to acquire Japanese beauty and lifestyle brand platform Ci FLAVORS Co., Ltd. from its existing shareholders, including consumer investment firm L Catterton, founder Yusaku Horiuchi, eBeauty Group, and Yanagi Capital Partners. Yusaku Horiuchi and CEO Yoshiaki Okura will both be investing alongside KKR in the transaction. Founded in 2011, Ci FLAVORS operates a diverse personal care portfolio, including popular haircare and skincare brands such as &honey, 8 THE THALASSO, unlabel, THERATIS, and MOROCCAN BEAUTY, spanning D2C, OEM manufacturing, retail, and global supply chains. KKR is executing the investment through its flagship Asia Pacific private equity strategy to accelerate the company's domestic footprint and expanding overseas presence across Asia and North America. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Australian insurance broker Steadfast has entered into a $5.51bn (A$7.7bn) buyout agreement with a consortium comprising Amwins Group, Dragoneer Investment Group and KKR. Under the scheme implementation deed, Starboard BidCo will acquire all outstanding Steadfast shares for A$6 each in cash, subject to adjustment for permitted dividends. The offer represents a 51.9% premium to Steadfast's closing price of A$3.95 on 9 June 2026, and places the deal's enterprise value at approximately A$7.7bn. Steadfast's board has unanimously endorsed the scheme, and completion is expected by December 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Nvidia is set to report second quarter earnings, with Wall Street expecting adjusted earnings per share of $2.09 on revenue of $92 billion, according to Bloomberg analyst consensus estimates. That would mark a 96% year-over-year jump in overall revenue and a continued quarter-over-quarter acceleration. Data Center revenue is anticipated to top $85.4 billion, up 107%, with hyperscaler revenue expected to reach $43.5 billion and ACIE sales projected to reach $41.7 billion. The report comes as chip stocks struggle to hold gains following July's steep declines over concerns about returns on AI investments. Nvidia also recently announced a $500 billion capital pool with BlackRock, Blackstone, KKR, Apollo, Brookfield, and Goldman Sachs to securitize its GPUs, and is backing SB Energy and OpenAI's efforts to build an 8-gigawatt data center in Ohio with up to $150 billion.

Stripe announced a deal to buy AI model gateway and routing platform OpenRouter, with Bloomberg reporting the acquisition consideration could exceed $7 billion though financial terms were not disclosed. Madison Air Solutions agreed to acquire ebm-papst at an enterprise purchase price of $5.4 billion, or $5.0 billion net of future tax savings. Virtu Financial was considering a sale of its agency brokerage and technology division that could be worth up to $3.5 billion to $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. An investor group led by affiliates of KKR and Dragoneer Investment Group, plus Amwins Group, agreed to acquire Australian insurance company Steadfast Group for about A$7.7 billion, or US$5.5 billion. Bunker Hill Mining agreed to acquire Silver47 Exploration in an all-stock deal valued at about $163 million, forming a larger U.S. silver and critical minerals producer. Mitsubishi Electric agreed to acquire PCI Energy Solutions, a U.S.-based provider of enterprise software for energy management and optimization, for $1.4 billion. Veralto agreed to acquire Cleanwater1 for $465 million, or about $452 million net of estimated tax benefits, with closing expected in Q4 2026.