The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Onex chief executive officer Bobby Le Blanc expects the pace of deal-making to pick up this year for the private equity firm, but progress on raising new money for its key funds is still slow. The Globe's James Bradshaw writes that after an 18-month drought for mergers and acquisitions in private equity, as rapid increases in interest rates stalled the market, "activity seems to be picking up now," Mr. Le Blanc told analysts on a Friday conference call discussing the company's fourth-quarter earnings. Interest rates have steadied, and if market conditions continue to improve, "We expect things to get better as the year goes on," he said. "You should be able to see not only more return of capital but deployment of capital." Even though deal-making has been at a near standstill, Onex has been busy with a turnaround plan under Mr. Le Blanc, who has focused on selling assets to return cash to investors, cut the company's costs, and reset its financial targets at more modest and achievable levels. Onex is also aggressively buying back its stock, repurchasing 3.5 million shares last year and pledging to continue with buybacks while its shares are cheap.