Good morning, all. As we pack our bags for Texas ahead of Axial’s Dallas Summit this week, all the talk around the energy sector is top of mind. Much is being made of falling energy prices with opinions differing on whether this is fundamentally changing the M&A environment or if we’re simply at the beginning of yet another cycle. Either way, we’re excited to hear what some of the dealmakers gathering this week in Dallas have to say about activity in the region.

In other news, individual investors are increasingly being courted by larger and larger private equity funds.

Transactions

• Houghton Mifflin buys Scholastic’s education services and technology business
• Urnex bought by Cortec
• Riverside adds-on to education play with C-Learning
• Penta Mezzanine Fund backs Access Integrated Healthcare
• Serent Capital invests in Compeat
• Stone Point Capital backs Preston Hollow Capital
• Francisco Partners agrees to buy Procera Networks
• Pine Tree Equity invests in Smile Design
• Lightyear Capital to acquire stake in Wealth Enhancement Group
• Incline Equity invests in AFC Holdings
• Baird Capital invests in Medical Device Sources
• Nautic buys Source4Teachers

Events

• Tuesday: Axial hosts it’s Dallas Roundtable & Summit

Opinions

• The Pace of M&A Held Steady in Q1
• Energy “Drill and Dump” Roadmap for Private Equity has Ended
• Private Equity Investment Volume Remains Strong in Q1 2015
• Private Equity, Banks Get Back into the RIA Deal Game
• 5 Ways Plummeting Energy Prices Are Changing M&A
• “Do Good” Companies Can Do Well for Investors
• Private Equity Firms Writing Bigger Buyout Checks
• Private Equity Courts the Well-to-Do
• For Government Contractors, More Mergers Lie Ahead
• Learning Your BDCs
• Shadow Capital Steps Into Spotlight in Private Equity
• Middle Market Company Growth Stabilizes
• The M&A Cycle Is Just Getting Started in the Energy Sector
• How Capital Superabundance Could Burn Private Equity Investors
• Why Private Equity Investors are Moving to the African Beat
• The Glory Days for Growth Equity Are Just Getting Started
• Private Debt Market Ready for Takeoff
• Are M&A Replacing R&D in Pharma?
• M&A in the Energy Sector May Not Meet Investor Expectations 

This week in history…The then-largest deal in U.S. history was made, merging the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads (1966).