Mark Cuban, the former majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has joined the newly formed Harbinger Sports Partners Fund as a general partner.

The $750m private equity fund will focus on acquiring minority stakes in franchises across the NBA, NFL, and MLB—tapping into the growing institutional appetite for exposure to US professional sports assets.

Harbinger is led by Rashaun Williams, a limited partner in the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, and Steve Cannon, former CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment. The fund intends to deploy between $50m and $150m per deal, acquiring stakes of up to 5% in each team and ultimately building a 15-team portfolio.

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has committed $500m to a private equity vehicle managed by Thoma Bravo, underscoring the world’s largest pension fund’s growing shift into alternative assets.

The 10-year commitment, completed by March 2025, is part of GPIF’s long-term strategy to diversify away from traditional equities and bonds and increase its exposure to private markets. The fund, which oversees around $1.8tn in assets, currently allocates just 1.65% to alternatives, well below its 5% ceiling.

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Carlyle Group has begun deploying its JPY430bn ($3bn) fifth Japan buyout fund, significantly scaling up its presence in Tokyo with ten new investment hires planned for 2025.

Four professionals have already joined this year, with another six expected by December, bringing Carlyle’s Japan deal team to 35. The expansion supports the firm’s accelerated activity in Japan, where low financing costs and a steady pipeline of corporate carve-outs and succession-led transactions continue to attract strong private equity interest.

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Swiss pension fund GastroSocial has increased its private markets allocation to 33% of its CHF11bn ($12.5bn) portfolio, as part of a strategic shift to enhance long-term returns and reduce exposure to short-term market volatility.

The revised allocation includes 9% each in private equity, private debt, and infrastructure, alongside 5% in international real estate and 2% in insurance-linked securities. This marks a notable rise from the fund’s previous 25% allocation to private assets.

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Inflexion has announced the final close of its £2.3bn Inflexion Continuation Fund I, the largest multi-asset continuation fund raised in Europe to date.

The oversubscribed vehicle will enable four portfolio companies – Aspen Pumps, Rosemont Pharmaceuticals, Ocorian, and CNX Therapeutics – to continue their growth trajectories with a sharpened focus on international expansion and M&A.

Read more here.

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