Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: September 16, 2026, 2:01 PM ET

Brookfield's Reliance Take-Private Closes at $2.9bn

Brookfield has secured its deal for Reliance Worldwide after a fourth bid, valuing the plumbing products maker behind the Shark Bite brand at $2.9bn. The transaction marks one of the larger take-privates in the industrial sector this year and caps a prolonged negotiation. A separate report on the agreement pegs the deal at $2.8bn, with Reliance manufacturing plumbing and heating products across several continents. The company's shareholder base had resisted earlier approaches before the final offer cleared.

Energy Midstream Exit

Tailwater Capital and EMG sold Powder River assets to Plains for $585m. The package includes roughly 600 miles of crude oil gathering and transmission pipelines, deepening Plains' footprint in the Powder River Basin. The exit reflects continued consolidation in midstream infrastructure as sponsors monetize mature gathering systems.

EQT Moves on Two Fronts

EQT agreed to sell Ontinue to Quorum Cyber, offloading a cybersecurity provider of AI-powered managed extended detection and response services. In a separate move, EQT and Norway's sovereign fund teamed up to bid for Spain's Acciona Energía, with Norges Bank Investment Management managing the Norwegian wealth fund's participation. The dual-track activity shows EQT recycling capital from tech assets while deploying into European renewable infrastructure.

MLB Draws Institutional Capital Despite Lockout Risk

Major League Baseball continues to attract significant interest from institutional investors even as a potential lockout looms, with new backers including Apollo, Harbinger and an ownership group. A companion report notes investors remain bullish on MLB despite the labor uncertainty, alongside a look at HR software deals from Thoma Bravo and others. The willingness to underwrite through a possible work stoppage underscores the scarcity value of premium sports franchises.

Software IPO Drought Persists

U.S. venture-backed technology companies have secured around $90bn in domestic listings, but software IPOs remain largely absent as SpaceX and Cerebras dominate the 2026 tech market. The dearth of software offerings forces late-stage investors to rely on secondary sales and continuation vehicles for liquidity.

People Moves Across the Industry

Partners Capital named Jennifer Fox Bensimon head of co-investments; she joined the firm's Co-Investment team in September 2024. EIV Capital added Kristin Kelly as partner, bringing the energy investor into its upstream strategy after she served as head of traditional energy at a prior firm. Strategic Value Partners named Matt Gibson as president; the Goldman Sachs veteran joins the $22bn alternative investment firm after more than 25 years at the bank.

Niobrara Buys Canadian MSP Platform

Niobrara Capital acquired MSP Corp, a founder-led Canadian managed services provider founded in 1993. The deal gives Niobrara a platform in the fragmented North American IT services market, where roll-up strategies have accelerated.

Main Capital's Dual Deals

Main Capital Partners agreed to acquire Watermark, the Austin-based higher education software firm serving approximately 1,500 public and private institutions. Separately, the firm took a majority stake in Boxwise, a Dutch warehouse management software provider serving around 240 customers. The two deals illustrate Main's appetite for vertical software with recurring revenue.

Language and Cybersecurity Add-Ons

Vitruvian Partners acquired a majority stake in Smartling from Battery Ventures; the AI-powered Language AI platform serves more than 1,000 global brands. Gallant-backed Fime added Red Alert Labs, a French firm specializing in cybersecurity evaluation and compliance automation. The bolt-ons reflect sponsors' preference for tuck-in acquisitions that broaden platform capabilities.

Consumer and Legal Services Consolidation

Brightstar-backed Bendon acquired Hinkler's North American business in an add-on deal; Hinkler's North American unit designs and distributes children's coloring and activity products. QPE-backed Canford Group completed its acquisition of PDC Group, which specializes in debt recovery and legal services for landlords and residential clients, to form a legal services platform.

Payments, Consultancy and Monitoring Deals

Pollen Street-backed Order YOYO completed a bolt-on acquisition of Dutch payments firm Cashdesk, which provides white label software and payments technology including point-of-sale systems. Adelis Equity Partners agreed a majority stake in consultancy alliance Newground, which brings together 15 specialist consultancies with more than 300 consultants. Graham Partners acquired Immix, a remote video monitoring platform headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina with an additional office in Scottsdale.

Providence on Entertainment and B2B Events

Providence Equity's Andrew Tisdale and Robert Sudo shared their playbooks for ATG, Hyve and Closer Still, citing category leaders, resilience through disruption and technology investment as key themes in entertainment and B2B events investing. A related report outlined the shared strategies across those holdings, and noted Eurazeo has completed a majority investment in Netco Group, a European provider.

VC Sentiment and Startup Battlefield

A bearish case on venture capital may be missing the bigger picture, as secondaries and manager relationships build, according to Side Letter. Tech Crunch Disrupt 2026 revealed its next judges for the Startup Battlefield, naming five top-tier investors. Exhibitors have three days left to book tables, with the deadline set for September 18.

Evergreen Funds and Impact Investing

Senior wealth and asset management executives weighed in on liquidity and how they will judge success at a Paris conference, spelling out lessons learned from evergreen fund structures. Climate investors are moving beyond carbon accounting in a new impact investing playbook, shifting toward more operational metrics.

Founder Perspectives and Other Deals

Flowpay CEO William Jalloul argued that defaults are a necessary signal of adequate risk-taking, saying "if you don't have defaults, you're not taking enough risks." A Sifted guide covered the dos and don'ts of tech interview attire. Aphias Capital backed SNZweig, formed from the combination of York, Pennsylvania-based Stambaugh Ness and Zweig. TPG's Rise Funds agreed to invest in Tablet Command, a Walnut Creek, California-based provider of incident management software.