CVC Capital Partners and the Jordan Co. are investing a combined $600 million in Bruin Sports Capital. Bruin Sports is a sports, media and marketing-focused investment firm that was founded in 2015 by former IMG Sports & Entertainment and Nascar executive George Pyne. Bruin Sports will use the investment from the two PE firms to expand its growth and towards investments. "As we enter this next chapter for Bruin, and with our partners, we will be even more bold and aggressive in building the platforms that lead the sports and entertainment industry forward," says Pyne. Some of Bruin Sports' investments include Deltratre. Deltratre offers digital services that go into live streaming sporting events on social media, online and mobile devices. Bruins Sports also backed the National Football League's hospitality business, NFL on Location, and sports and entertainment marketing agency Engine Shop. “George and his team have built an impressive franchise, and we are delighted to be partnering with them to invest in and develop high-growth, high-performing global sports and entertainment companies,” adds CVC managing partner Chris Stradler. “Our extensive European network and deep experience in sports, media, and entertainment ideally complement Bruin’s impressive existing platform." Rock Ventures and Nassef Sawris also previously invested in Bruin Sports. DEAL NEWS Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI) has acquired Madrid-based M&A advisory firm Fidentiis Capital. This is the fifth acquisition that Houlihan Lokey has made in Europe in the past four years, following the acquisitions of McQueen Ltd. and Leonardo & Co. in 2015 and BearTooth Advisors and Quayle Munro in 2018. Fidentiis was founded in 2015 by managing partners Carlos Paramés and Juan Luis Muñoz. To date, Fidentiis Capital has completed more than 25 M&A transactions in the Spanish midcap market, including advising ProA Capital on the acquisition of a majority stake in Pastas Gallo and advising Riverside on the sale of Euromed to Dermapharm. Kaman Corp. (NYSE: KAMN) is buying Bal Seal for $330 million. The target makes metal parts for the aerospace and defense, industrials and medical technology sectors. “Following the recent sale of our distribution business, Kaman’s strategic focus has centered on growing our highly engineered products business," says Kaman CEO Neal Keating. Advisors to Kaman include: J.P. Morgan Securtieis (NYSE: JPM) and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Advisors to Bal are William Blair and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Madison Dearborn and CoVant-backed LinQuest Corp. have purchased the Perduco Group, a data provideer to defense and civilian agencies. Baird, Kirkland & Ellis and Crowell & Moring advised LinQuest. Jones Day advised Perduco. Bank of America Merrill Lynch provided financing. Apax Partners has acquired Lexitas, a provider of records retrieval services for law firms and insurers, from Trinity Hunt Partners. Deloitte Corporate Finance and Katten Muchin Rosenman advised Lexitas. William Blair, Kirkland & Ellis and Ernst & Young advised Apax. Brentwood Associates has acquired a majority stake in fast-casual restaurant chain Chicken Salad Chick, which operates 137 locations mostly in the Southeast. North Point Advisors and King & Spalding advised Chicken Salad. Burr & Forman advised Brentwood. Angeles Equity Partners has bought Crenlo Cab Products from KPS Capital Partners and Worthington Industries Engineered Cabs from Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR). Crenlo designs and manufactures engineered cabs in Minnesota. Lincoln International and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton and Garrison advised the sellers. Cowen and Vorys advised Worthington. Angeles was advised by Honigman. DEAL TRENDS Companies are 2.5 times more likely to acquire companies located in the state where their CEO grew up than similar companies located elsewhere, according to a report published by the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. The report also found hometown bias could mean millions in gained or lost shareholder value, depending on the amount of scrutiny the deal receives. The study examined 5,505 deals between 1992-2014, representing more than 2,200 companies and 4,200 CEOs, and used Social Security data to determine the executives’ home state. Madison Capital Funding has signed the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI). Madison Capital has also established an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee chaired by vice president Joseph McDermott. The PRI is recognized as the leading global network for investors who have publicly committed to integrating ESG considerations into their investment practices. PEOPLE MOVES Michael Kuh has joined law firm Hogan Lovells as a partner, where is focusing on the sports and entertainment sectors. Kuh was most recently with Latham & Watkins. Scott Mozarksy has joined investment bank JEGI |Clarity as a managing director, where he will be building the firm's M&A group. Mozarsky was previously global head of M&A for UBM. FEATURED CONTENT Overall M&A activity in the third quarter saw $600 billion worth of deals closed, according to PitchBoook. So far in 2019, more than 8,000 deals have closed, worth about $1.6 trillion. The activity is on pace with the first three quarters of 2018. Among the deals that closed include: Cox Automotive's purchase of Rivian Automotive; TPG Sixth St Partners' deal for Smartdrive Systems and Boathouse Capital backing TapClicks. Read the full story: Key middle-market M&A deals completed in Q3 2019 The private equity model has held up very well over the decades, continuing to outperform the public markets, even as economic cycles come and go. But the rate of growth has slowed, leading PE firms to seek adjacent areas of business to expand. As PE firms face increased pressure to produce higher returns on their investments, many of them are turning to a familiar area of business: lending. Adams Street Partners, Balance Point Capital, Carlyle and VSS are all actively engaged in lending. Read the full story: Private equity firms are becoming lenders. Here’s why. It’s a milestone year for the Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE: BX), which transitioned from a publicly traded partnership to a corporation on July 1. The New York firm announced the final close of its latest global real estate fund recently. With $20.5 billion of total capital commitments, Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX is the largest real estate fund ever raised. Mergers & Acquisitions spoke with Stephen A. Schwarzman, the firm’s co-founder, chairman and CEO. Read the full story: "Complete control" is the beauty of private equity, says Blackstone's Stephen A. Schwarzman. Bank M&A has been soaring, creating the perfect backdrop for Piper Jaffray’s announced acquisition of Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP. “There has been a lot of consolidation in the bank space,” Piper Jaffray CEO Chad Abraham told Mergers & Acquisitions. “But there are still 5,000 banks, and we expect the pace of consolidation to continue.” For analysis of the deal, see Counting on bank M&A: Why Piper Jaffray bought Sandler O'Neill. Looking for a glimpse of what’s to come in the private equity industry? Meet Mergers & Acquisitions' 2019 Rising Stars of Private Equity. As the PE industry undergoes a generational shift, and many firm founders retire, it’s well worth getting to know these emerging leaders, including Branford's Austin Collier, Sterling Partners' Shawn Domanic and Summit Partners' Sophia Popova. For profiles and video interviews, see Meet Mergers & Acquisitions' 2019 Rising Stars of Private Equity. For Q&As, see 10 Rising Stars of Private Equity tell their tales. To celebrate deals, dealmakers and dealmaking firms, Mergers & Acquisitions produces three special reports every year: the M&A Mid-Market Awards; the Rising Stars of Private Equity; and the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. For more on the timeline and nomination process for each, see Special reports overview: M&A Mid-Market Awards, Rising Stars, Most Influential Women. EVENTS ACG Boston hosts The 2nd annual Healthcare Conference – Improving the Patient Experience - on Nov. 6 at the UMass Club in Boston, as a part of the ACG Northeast Industry Tour. Speakers include Mergers & Acquisitions editor-in-chief Mary Kathleen Flynn, who is moderating a panel. ACG Charlotte brings M&A pros together for Deal Crawl at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nov. 6-7. The Third Annual Women in Alternative Investments Career Forum is taking place at the New York Hilton on Nov. 8. ACG New York is hosting Middle Market Week in New York from Nov. 11-15. The 17th Annual Private Equity Wine Tasting Gala takes place on Nov. 13 at Gotham Hall. Exponent Women is hosting a Family Office Event with Owens Group at LX Gallery in New York on Nov. 21. Mergers & Acquisitions editor-in-chief Mary Kathleen Flynn is moderating a panel.