deals

Deals (w/e 2/19/26)

Lee McCabe

24 Feb 2026 — 1 min read

Ariel Alternatives Acquires Front Line Power Construction

Ariel Alternatives has acquired Front Line Power Construction, with Cherokee Nation Businesses joining as a minority co-investor. Power grid infrastructure is no longer theoretical. It’s cables, substations, and hard backlog tied to AI data centers and electrification mandates. This isn’t energy-transition storytelling; it’s regulated, contracted build-out where capital gets absorbed fast and visibility matters. Power is one of the hottest verticals in PE right now, and this is money moving where the grid physically expands.

Cerberus Completes Buyout of Vivace

Cerberus has converted its prior growth investment in Vivace into a full buyout, doubling down on spaceflight systems at a moment when aerospace and defense budgets are expanding. Moving from minority to control signals conviction. Space hardware isn’t SaaS. It’s long procurement cycles, engineering intensity, and geopolitical tailwinds. Cerberus clearly believes this asset sits in the right part of the defense-tech stack.

BayPine Acquires Relation Insurance from Aquiline

BayPine is acquiring Relation Insurance from Aquiline in a classic sponsor-to-sponsor transaction. Insurance brokerage remains one of the most consolidated sectors in private equity. Recurring commissions, fragmented local operators, and predictable roll-up economics. When IPO windows are narrow, sponsors sell to other sponsors. This is asset recycling in a sector that refuses to cool down.

SCI Capital-Backed Reddy Ice Acquires Arctic Glacier from Carlyle

Reddy Ice, backed by SCI Capital, has acquired Arctic Glacier from Carlyle. Packaged ice isn’t glamorous, but density, routing, and distribution scale matter enormously in this category. This is consolidation in a regional logistics-heavy business that benefits from operational discipline. Carlyle exits; SCI builds category concentration. Boring is often profitable.

Greenbriar Acquires AIT Worldwide Logistics

Greenbriar Equity Group is acquiring AIT Worldwide Logistics, with The Jordan Company exiting. Freight forwarding and global logistics platforms are back in favor as supply chains stabilize and trade volumes normalize. AIT’s scale makes this one of the more meaningful logistics buyouts of the week. The appetite for transportation infrastructure remains intact.

Lifestyle (w/e 2/19/26)

Vox on the rise of “admin nights” — friends hanging out while doing life chores (budgeting, emails, meal prep), i.e., the new nightlife for people with calendars and back-to-back calls. link Reuters on “sober raves” taking off with Gen Z — earlier nights, no hangovers, still a proper dance floor. link

News (2/19/26)

McKinsey Declares “The Fog Has Lifted” on Private Equity McKinsey’s 2026 Global Private Markets Report says the fog has finally lifted, with buyouts up, exits rebounding, and IPOs creeping back after three flat years. That may be true, but the backlog of PE-owned companies is at record highs and

Capital doesn’t scale businesses. It scales whatever dysfunction is already there.

You see this constantly in home services and other PE-backed, multi-location businesses. New locations are added faster than systems mature. Marketing budgets increase, but lead quality becomes harder to explain. Revenue targets go up, while visibility into what’s actually driving demand goes down. On paper, the business is scaling.

Marketing is just a capital allocation problem.

Somehow we all accept that in every other part of the business. Capex gets a model. Headcount gets a plan. Even the CFO’s “strategic initiatives” get a spreadsheet and a quiet prayer. Marketing gets vibes. That’s why I call the right theory "Investment Marketing". Marketing is