North Castle Partners has raised its seventh fund at $400 million. The PE firm focuses on businesses that promote healthy, active and sustainable living. North Castle recently completed the sale of weight loss company Jenny Craig to H.I.G. Capital. The firm also invested in: veterinary group Encore Vet Group; Indian food brand Maya Kaimal Foods; VitaCup Inc., a maker of coffee and tea products that are infused with vitamins; and ski resort Windham Mountain Resort. "We believe that our investors appreciate the ‘Full Potential Partnerships’ we strive to create with our CEOs and their management teams and our ‘Value & Values’ approach as we work with our portfolio companies, the communities we serve and our investors," says North Castle founder Chip Baird.

Related: PE fundraising scorecard: Accolade, Hamilton Lane, TA, Warwick.

DEAL NEWS
Jacobs (NYSE: JEC) is buying KeyW for about $815 million. KeyW offers engineering and technology services for the cybersecurity and intelligence sectors. "As information technology and operation technology converge, we see significant opportunity to leverage KeyW's technology and innovation across our buildings, infrastructure and advanced facilities' client base," says Jacobs CEO Steve Demetriou. Advisors to Jacobs include: Barclays and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. Advisors to KeyW include: Guggenheim Securities and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is buying a majority stake in laminated tube maker Essel Propack for up to $462 million. Advisors to the target include: Morgan Stanley, PwC and Khaitan & Co. Advisors to Blackstone include: KPMG, Trilegal and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Montage Partners has bought Metalfx from Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA). The target offers sheet metal manufacturing and fabrication services. Montage was advised by Osborn Maledon PA and Asenti Diligence Partners. The sellers were advised Meridian Capital and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Financing was provided by Enterprise Bank & Trust and Eagle Private Capital LLC.

GenXx360 Capital Partners-backed GenServe has acquired Power Performance Industries, which provides provides maintenance and repair services to industrial generators and backup power service providers.

Orangewood Partners has purchased eight Taco Bell restaurants in and around Louisville, Kentucky.

For more deal announcements, see Weekly wrap: Butterfly, Siris Capital, Symplr.

FEATURED CONTENT
Carriers such as AT&T and Verizon need to upgrade their infrastructure as they look to offer 5G, driving demand for infrastructure and IT providers. Read the full guest article by Alarian Associates' Pauli Overdorff: How buildout of 5G wireless technology fuels M&A.

Excelled. Innovated. Inspired. That’s what the eight winners of Mergers & Acquisitions’ 12th Annual M&A Mid-Market Awards did in 2018. Our awards honor the leading dealmakers and deals that set the standard for transactions in the middle market. In addition to Nike, award winners include: Fortive, TA Associates, the Riverside Co., Harris Williams, Monroe Capital, Goodwin and Luminate Capital Partners' Hollie Haynes. Read our full coverage: Meet the winners of the M&A Mid-Market Awards: Nike, Fortive, TA, Harris Williams.

Related: Read more about Mergers & Acquisitions' three annual special reports, including the M&A Mid-Market Awards, the Rising Stars of Private Equity, and the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.

Genstar Capital, Audax, HarbourVest ranked as the top U.S. private equity firms of 2018, based on volume of completed deals, according to PitchBook. Check out Mergers & Acquisitions' profiles of 21 firms that led the league tables. Top private equity firms: Genstar, Audax, HarbourVest and more.

Also see: Top investment banks in PE-backed deals: KPMG, Houlihan, GS, William Blair.

Technology permeates dealmaking today. “Tech is, more or less, touching everything,” as the authors of The 2019 BDO Technology Outlook Survey put it. You can see the impact of tech throughout the 2018 winners of Mergers & Acquisitions’ M&A Mid-Market Awards especially: Luminate Capital Partners founder Hollie Hayne scoring Dealmaker of the Year for raising a second fund to invest in enterprise software companies; and TA Associates winning Private Equity Firm of the Year for investing a record $2.8 billion in new portfolio companies, most of which are infused with technology one way or the other.

Related: Why private equity firms still love technology.
Related: 10 private equity firms share strategies for tech M&A.

Mergers & Acquisitions has named 36 leaders the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including Kainos Capital's Sarah Bradley, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors' Nishita Cummings and Pelham S2K Managers' Venita Fields. All 36 are outstanding dealmakers both inside and outside of their firms. This year, we asked the featured dealmakers to tell their own stories through Q&As, including their advice for women. Related: Meet the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.

EVENTS
ACG Boston hosts a 40th Anniversary Celebration and inaugural awards reception at the Boston Harbor Hotel's Wharf Room on April 24.

InterGrowth 2019 takes place May 6-8 at the Waldorf Astoria & Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida.

Innovation Works holds its second annual AI/Robotics Venture Fair in Pittsburgh May 15-16.

ACG Chicago hosts the Midwest Capital Connection, at The Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, May 21-22.

ACG New York, ACG Boston and ACG Philadelphia are holding the Industrial Conference with Value Creation at the Infor in New York on June 6. The event is part of the Northeast Industry Tour.

ACG Minnesota hosts the The Upper Midwest ACG Capital Connection at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot, June 10-11.

ACG Boston brings together 700-plus dealmakers for DealFest Northeast and DealSource Select 2019 at the Cyclorama & The State Room, June 12-13.