The Rise Fund, the global impact fund managed by TPG Growth, has invested in drone delivery company Zipline. The target uses drones to deliver medical supplies. Healthcare workers are able place orders through text messages and receive their deliveries in about 30 minutes. Zipline's drones take off and land from Zipline’s distribution centers, requiring no additional infrastructure at the clinics it serves. In the last six months, Zipline has grown from one distribution center in one country, delivering blood to 21 hospitals, to operating six distribution centers in two countries, delivering more than 170 different vaccines, blood products, and medications to 2,500 healthcare facilities serving close to 22 million people. Technology is revolutionizing the healthcare industry and fueling an explosion of transactions. Private equity firms that invest in healthcare technology are buying platform companies and closing add-on acquisitions, quickly bringing consolidation to the fragmented industry. Dealmaking is likely to benefit from increased spending by healthcare companies. “Zipline is not just a drone company, but rather a transformative technology business using next-generation logistical solutions to provide lifesaving services," says The Rise Fund chief investment officer Mike Stone. “Zipline is a compelling example of what we search for with The Rise Fund: companies helping to solve our world’s most complex societal problems.” The Rise Fund is "committed to achieving measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns," according to the firm. The fund invests in the education, energy, food and agriculture, financial services and healthcare sectors.

Technology is revolutionizing the healthcare industry and fueling an explosion of transactions. Some of the most promising areas of innovation are: big data, medical devices, revenue cycle management, Software-as-a-Service and payment processing. “Healthcare IT is the largest cottage industry in the world,” says Sam Hendler, who leads healthcare IT deals at Harris Williams. “Healthcare IT is a highly fragmented, multi-billion-dollar market with thousands of companies focused on different $250 million to $500 million sub-markets. Savvy investors see there is an opportunity to aggregate assets and build platforms of scale. It’s an incredibly exciting time in healthcare IT.” For an in-depth look at five technologies driving M&A in healthcare, see Healthcare's must-have technologies. And for recent transactions that showcase the trends, see 5 private equity-backed healthcare IT deals.

Deadline approaches for Mergers & Acquisitions' 2019 Rising Stars of Private Equity. Last year, we named 11 PE investors to the list, including Ethan Liebermann, who was recently promoted from principal to director of TA Associates, and Jennifer Roach Pacini, a vice president of Yellow Wood Partners. We look for individuals who are full-time private equity investors and whose best days are yet to come. These are the folks you predict will one day play a key leadership role at your PE firm – or will head up their own. There is no age cutoff. We publish the list online in July and in the July/August issue of the magazine. The deadline for nominations is end of day Thursday, May 23, 2019. Nominations will be accepted only through our online form. There is no fee.

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE A RISING STAR OF PRIVATE EQUITY

Click here for the 2018 Rising Stars of Private Equity.

DEAL NEWS

Blackstone's (NYSE: BX) strategic capital group has made a minority investment in private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners. The investment will allow Marlin to continue to invest in and further expand its global investment platform, strengthen the commitment to and alignment with its diversified investor base, and leverage the global resources and capabilities of Blackstone. Advisors to Marlin include: Evercore (NYSE: EVR) and Kirkland & Ellis. The legal advisor to Blackstone is Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) has agreed to buy U.S. supercomputer maker Cray Inc. (Nasdaq: CRAY) in a deal valued at about $1.4 billion, as the firm works to become more competitive in high-end computing. Read the full story: HPE buys supercomputer maker Cray.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is leading a $575 million investment in Deliveroo, buying a slice of the fast-growing startup and pitting it directly against Uber Technologies Inc. in a fiercely competitive European food delivery industry. Read the full story: Amazon leads a funding round in Deliveroo.

NPK Construction Equipment has acquired Genesis Attachments from KPS Capital. Genesis is a producer of hydraulic mobile shears, demolition attachment tools, grapples and concrete processors. The advisors to the sellers include: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP and Deutsche Bank.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) has acquired InstaMed, a healthcare payments technology company.

Shore Capital Partners has formed Southern Ear, Nose, Throat and Allergy Partners and completed a strategic partnership with Northwest ENT and Allergy Center.

Topspin Partners-backed Remedy Health Media has acquired healthcare media company Vertical Health.

Post Capital Partners has invested in Prochamps, a a full-service technology and program administrator for property registration programs.

For more deal announcements, see Weekly wrap: Goldman Sachs, Kian, Lee Equity.

For more on PE fundraising, see PE fundraising scorecard: Advent, Bloomfield Capital, Cloverlay, TH Lee.

PEOPLE MOVES

Paul Schneir has joined private equity firm Blue Sea Capital as an executive advisor, where he is assisting the firm with the evaluation and management of chemical investments. Schneir was most recently with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

FEATURED CONTENT

Tech dominates dealmaking. The technology, media and telecom, or TMT, sector accounted for about 40 percent of total private equity deal volume and one-third of total capital invested by PE firms over the last five years, according to EY Private Equity. Read our full coverage: The next wave of tech 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.

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.

Related: Why private equity firms still love technology

Related: 10 private equity firms share strategies for tech M&A.

Genstar Capital, Audax and 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.

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

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.

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.

EVENTS

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 and the State Room, June 12-13.

Exponent Women hosts the Annual Exchange, which brings a trusted network of women dealmakers together for a focused day of robust content and networking, at Second in New York, on July 11. The Exchange provides attendees with opportunities to establish new connections, reinforce existing ones and absorb timely and relevant knowledge from industry leaders.

