Is a private equity megadeal brewing?

One scoop to start: Nvidia has signed leases worth up to $50bn for a massive Texas data centre, a previously undisclosed commitment that shines a new spotlight on the chip group’s growing role in financing AI.

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In today’s newsletter:

• Ares eyes Leonard Green
• The face-off at DCC
• CXMT’s soaring debut

Ares eyes Leonard Green

The face-off at DCC

CXMT’s soaring debut

Ares goes hunting for a private equity deal

In the pantheon of private capital giants with over $500bn in assets, Ares Management is arguably the firm with the most exposure to its flagship business line, but chief executive Michael Arougheti has been on the prowl to change that.

The Los Angeles-based firm is one of the premier private lenders on Wall Street, with a credit arm every bit as potent as rivals Blackstone, Apollo and KKR. But when it comes to the other areas of the $22tn private markets, such as corporate takeovers, property and infrastructure deals, the near $650bn in assets firm must play catch-up.

Arougheti has been keen to use Ares’ financial resources on acquisitions, buying the non-China operations of property manager GLP Capital in 2024 and secondaries specialist Landmark Partners in 2021 in cash and stock deals.

Now, it’s on the hunt for private equity deals and has held discussions over an acquisition of Leonard Green & Partners, one of the largest and most successful privately held PE groups, DD’s Eric Platt, Antoine Gara and Arash Massoudi scoop.

The two held discussions about a potential tie-up recently, according to people familiar with the matter, who cautioned that the groups could ultimately decide to walk away from…