Private Equity 8 Hours

Last updated: March 23, 2026, 8:30 PM ET

Private Equity Exits & Dealmaking

Francisco Partners is preparing to divest its stake in music publisher Kobalt to Brookfield-backed Primary Wave, a transaction that will see current CEO Laurent Hubert and the management team retain their positions. This potential sale follows news that Advent and Cinven explore a €25bn exit from their ownership of TK Elevator, with Kone entering advanced discussions to acquire the PE-owned entity. Separately, Arlington Capital moves to acquire Eptec Defence, a specialist provider of naval and defense preservation services, signaling continued appetite for niche government services providers despite broader funding slowdowns.

Venture Capital and Funding Trends

The slowdown in U.S. startup funding was particularly acute in March, driven almost entirely by a reduction in the number of massive AI-related funding rounds closing this month, according to recent data Crunchbase News. Countering the general cooling, London-based Air Street Capital raised a $232M Fund III, positioning itself as one of Europe's largest solo venture capital firms focused on early-stage AI companies across Europe and North America. Furthermore, demonstrating confidence in emerging digital sectors, CEOs from rival platforms Kalshi and Polymarket backed a $35M predictions markets fund targeting startups in that burgeoning category.

Secondaries Activity

Institutional investors are actively seeking liquidity, evidenced by the University of California shopping a $3bn LP portfolio in the secondaries market. This large mandate represents the latest strategic move by the system to divest existing interests, providing significant dry powder opportunities for specialized secondary buyers looking to deploy capital efficiently against current valuations Secondaries Investor.