Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: March 23, 2026, 1:30 PM ET

Dealmaking & Exits: Sector Rotation and Portfolio Sales

Private equity deal flow showed continued activity across technology, healthcare, and energy sectors, though some firms are adjusting exit strategies amid market uncertainty. Francisco Partners is exiting its investment in music publishing house Kobalt, agreeing to sell the asset to Brookfield-backed Primary Wave, with Kobalt CEO Laurent Hubert remaining in place. In healthcare, Olympus Partners plans to divest the retina division of Eye South, a U.S. eye-care MSO, in a transaction valued at $1.1 billion, while Sovereign sold Knovia after the portfolio company quadrupled revenue under its ownership. Simultaneously, exits are becoming more complex, as reports suggest longer sell-side preparation times and a trend toward partial sales, exemplified by Advent’s Cobham Ultra selling its Ultra Cyber unit to Airbus Defence and Space.

Infrastructure & Energy Transactions

Gulf energy assets remain a focus for infrastructure-oriented funds, with private equity targeting a $7 billion Kuwait pipeline deal as transactions in the region gain momentum. Elsewhere, Actis finalized its deployment in Southeast Asia by acquiring a 90% stake in Singaporean environmental management firm 800 Super for an undisclosed sum, bringing its regional deployment to $1.7 billion. Further capital deployment into essential services involved One Equity acquiring UK wholesale distributor Kitwave via a take-private transaction. Meanwhile, in European energy, Ares Management committed at least €1 billion toward the €1.5 billion capital increase for Eni’s renewables arm, Plenitude, which was valued at €13.1 billion in the deal.

Software, Fintech, and Growth Equity

The software and fintech space saw several targeted acquisitions, including Diversis acquiring the fintech firm LTi, where the co-founders will retain minority stakes. Continuing the software M&A trend, Gryphon-backed Rootstock acquired ERP provider Ascent Solutions, which builds applications on the Salesforce platform. Growth equity firm Lead Edge successfully closed its seventh fund, raising $3.5 billion to double down on software investments despite market volatility. In a separate technology move, AEA Elevate invested in Trinamix, a firm serving enterprise and mid-market organizations.

Fundraising Milestones & Institutional Shifts

Major fundraising efforts confirmed strong appetite for specialized mandates, even as institutional investors grapple with valuation concerns. Lead Edge Capital secured $3.5 billion for its latest growth fund, while Japan's RGCM Fund I is nearing the hard-cap for its debut fund focused on direct secondaries and primary rounds. Separately, Australia’s Aware Super appointed Alex Satchcroft to spearhead its $11 billion private equity portfolio, a move occurring as LPs generally prioritize liquidity, which made Mercer’s acquisition of Altamar CAM’s secondaries capabilities attractive. The trend of specialized fundraising continued with Air Street Capital closing a $232 million solo GP fund, noted as Europe’s largest of its kind.

Venture Capital and AI Investment Dynamics

Venture capital continued to finance technologies addressing infrastructure bottlenecks, particularly in artificial intelligence. Gimlet Labs raised an $80 million Series A round to back its technology allowing AI inference to run simultaneously across heterogeneous chip architectures from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. In a direct play for PE capital, OpenAI is reportedly offering private equity firms a guaranteed minimum return of 17.5% to finance its joint venture initiatives focused on AI expansion. Meanwhile, investment firms are also exploring specialized sectors; French-Italian VC 360 Capital raised €85 million for a deeptech fund backed by a European defense prime contractor.

Personnel Moves and Niche Strategies

The private equity industry saw key executive appointments across established firms. GTCR named Donnie Phillips as managing director and chief administrative officer in its Chicago office, while ECI appointed David Danon, formerly of Bain Capital, as a new partner. In a testament to diverse backgrounds entering the deal space, former Green Bay Packers receiver Terrence Murphy launched Synergy Sports Capital this month, announcing a debut deal, two decades after his NFL career was cut short by injury. Furthermore, research indicates that independent sponsors often target higher returns, seeking multiples exceeding 3x, driven by greater deal selectivity and lower valuation entry points compared to traditional fund strategies.