Good morning, Nina Lindholm here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom. With uncertainty around AI impact looming over software valuations, blue collar industries are enjoying attention from private equity.

Just this week, we saw two deals in the sector: a €750 million continuation vehicle by Exponent, as well as HIG Capital’s completed acquisition of a mechanical and electrical engineering services provider.

Not straying far from the opening topic, we have a fresh deal involving a data center operator. Cube Infrastructure has agreed to sell its stake in Firstcolo to CVC DIF.

Rapid growth: Private equity’s bet on engineering businesses could be a sign of sponsors targeting segments resilient to AI disruption. Engineering services that operate on AI infrastructure sit in a sweet spot – enjoying tailwinds created by growing data center construction demand.