Happy hump day, PE Hubsters. Rafael Canton here with the US edition of the Wire from the New York newsroom.

Let’s begin the Wire with a look at take-private deals happening in the software subsector.

Then, the fitness and wellness sector has seen a steady stream of M&A dealmaking. We have a report from Houlihan Lokey about fitness and wellness.

Finally, we have some deals from this morning. Grovecourt Capital Partners has acquired IMRIS Imaging, Inc.

 Then, we have another deal. Allied Industrial Partners-backed Waste Eliminator has acquired Oconee Resources.

Take-privates

One trend from 2024 that has continued in 2025 is take-private deals in software from private equity firms.  “We’ve seen an uptick in take-private transactions over the past two years as sponsors seek opportunities to acquire great companies at reasonable valuations,” Michael Fosnaugh, senior managing director and co-head of Vista’s flagship fund told PE Hub reporter John R Fischer in 2024.

Vista has done take-private deals in software. Vista acquired software firm Model N for $1.25 billion in 2024. Model N is a provider of revenue optimization and compliance for pharmaceutical, medtech and high-tech companies.

So far, we’ve seen a few take-private deals that have either happened or closed in the software industry, including two in February. First, Silver Lake and GIC completed their acquisition of enterprise platform company Zuora Inc. Also in February, Turn/River Capital agreed to acquire SolarWinds, an Austin-based provider of observability and IT management software, in a $4.4 billion deal. The sellers in the deal were Thoma Bravo and Silver Lake.

This comes on the heels of a deal in January that closed. Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners completed an $8.4 billion take-private buyout of Smartsheet, a Bellevue, Washington-based SaaS business that focuses on work management.

PE Hub will keep an eye on the trend.

Fitness dealmaking boost

The fitness and wellness sector is on a rebound in dealmaking according to Houlihan Lokey’s consumer fitness and wellness market update. The report says that 2024 saw the M&A market reach its highest transaction volume since 2021. There were 113 M&A deals in fitness and wellness in 2024, up from 70 in 2023.

One of the subsectors that is drawing interest within the fitness and wellness space is HVLP (high value, low price). An example of a PE deal in HVLP is Trive Capital and 808 Capital Partners investing in JF Fitness of North America, a Crunch Fitness franchisee.

Earlier in February, I covered private equity’s interest in boutique fitness which has seen a couple of deals happen in the past few months.

Enhancing patient care

In a deal announced this morning, Grovecourt Capital Partners has acquired IMRIS Imaging, Inc. Headquartered in Chaska, Minnesota, IMRIS is a provider of advanced neurosurgery operating theatres. Founded in 2005, the company’s MRI suites are utilized by several hospitals and cancer centers worldwide.

“IMRIS stands at the forefront of intraoperative medical imaging,” said Matt Bergin, managing partner at Grovecourt in a statement. Bergin added that Grovecourt is looking to work with the entire IMRIS team “to drive innovation, expand the company’s products and services and enhance patient care.”

Waste management

Allied Industrial Partners-backed Waste Eliminator has acquired Oconee Resources. Based in South Carolina, Oconee is an operator of a municipal solid waste and construction and demolition transfer station.

Waste Eliminator is a provider of sustainable waste solutions based in Atlanta. The deal is the eighth add-on by Waste Eliminator which was first acquired by Allied in 2021. It is the third deal in 2025 alone.

“By continually expanding and refining its sustainable waste management capabilities, Waste Eliminator has positioned itself as the premier service provider for municipal and commercial customers,” said Bradford Rossi and Philip Wright, co-founders and managing partners at Allied in a statement.

If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat about deals in the tech, consumer or sports sectors, please email me at rafael.c@pei.group.

Tomorrow, Nina Lindholm will be with you for the Europe edition of the Wire and MK Flynn will bring you the US edition.

Cheers,

Rafael