Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: April 30, 2026, 8:30 AM ET

Private Equity Transactions & Sector Moves

Private equity dealmaking saw activity across aviation finance, infrastructure, and specialized services, with Freshstream agreeing to divest regional aircraft lessor True Noord to Arcus Infrastructure Partners in an undisclosed transaction. In the IT services space, PE-backed Corporate Technologies acquired Minneapolis-based managed IT and cybersecurity provider RPM Technologies, continuing a trend of consolidation among SMB-focused service providers. Meanwhile, Falfurrias Capital Partners backed Young American Food Brands, which focuses on light sweet treats and lower-calorie snack bars, signaling continued interest in niche consumer packaged goods platforms.

Further diversification was evident as Algebris moved to acquire a stake in Italy’s Geosec, a firm specializing in ground engineering and foundation consolidation for infrastructure projects. In the energy transition sphere, Partners Group injected further equity into its portfolio company North Star to facilitate the acquisition of four new offshore wind Service Operation Vessels from Edda Wind, signaling commitment to specialized maritime assets supporting renewables. Separately, PSEI sold off a minority stake in Big Sky Wind to Hamilton Lane and GCM Grosvenor while retaining majority control and operational oversight of the asset.

Advisory, Secondaries, and GP Strategy

The advisory and placement agent sector experienced a significant restructuring as Lazard announced its acquisition of private capital advisor Campbell Lutyens for an upfront payment of $575 million, with potential additional consideration of up to $85 million based on multi-year performance metrics. This Lazard deal aims to forge a specialized private capital advisory platform, Lazard CL, co-led by Holcombe Green and Gordon Bajnai. In related secondary market developments, Manulife is actively purchasing infrastructure continuation vehicles (CVs) and secondaries, according to infrastructure fund investment head Kate Roscoe, who noted that rising retail investment flows are creating new, albeit complex, exit avenues for infrastructure assets. Regarding manager selection, Cambridge Associates advises that manager quality should supersede geographic focus for alpha-seeking investors, suggesting a global approach to sourcing top-tier general partners.

Technology, AI, and Venture Capital Flows

Venture capital continued to favor artificial intelligence applications, with approximately 207 AI-focused companies achieving unicorn status since the start of 2024, representing nearly half of all new billion-dollar valuations recorded this year according to Crunchbase data. The scale of potential future fundraising remains immense, as sources indicate that large language model developer Anthropic is fielding offers for a new round valuing the company between $850 billion and $900 billion, potentially reaching a $50 billion raise. Corporate venturing also saw movement, with BMW i Ventures launching a new $300 million fund explicitly targeting agentic AI, physical AI, and industrial software solutions. Separately, legal tech unicorn Legora extended its Series D to $600 million, boasting backing from Nvidia.

In specialized software and government tech, Battery Ventures-backed VertiGIS snapped up location master data management software provider 1Spatial, while the government contracting space attracted high-profile backing for Pursuit’s $22 million Series A, which counts Bill Gurley and Jack Altman as investors. On the materials science front, Groove Quantum raised €16 million to scale up its chip production capabilities, while other startups are leveraging AI to discover novel materials. Even smaller rounds are showing investor confidence in data infrastructure, as seen by the $3.7 million raise for Dreambase, an AI analytics platform.

Deal Sourcing and Sector Opportunities

Sponsors are being advised to adjust strategies for the evolving M&A environment, particularly in healthcare, where smart sponsors must rethink their approach to ensure deal closure amid heightened competition, as noted by Arnall Golden Gregory's Matthew Brohm. Competition is also intensifying in technology, where Bain & Co. warned that tech investors must prepare for greater rivalry and the necessity of partial exits, evidenced by the rejection of the joint offer by Energy Capital Partners and KKR for DCC. On the personnel front, Greybull Stewardship appointed Kevin Mohr, who brings two decades of financial leadership from the U.S. Coast Guard, as CFO operating partner. Meanwhile, DBAY-backed Finsbury Food Group acquired Flower & White, a producer of light snack bars, expanding its footprint across D2C, retail, and foodservice channels. Geographically, while Iceland is gaining attention as a vibrant startup hub per capita, some firms are focusing on specific industrial services, as OpenGate prepares to acquire Total Safety’s EMEA division, which provides mission-critical safety services to the petrochemical and oil and gas sectors across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Finally, Catchment made an investment in Vertech Industrial Systems, which services critical infrastructure sectors including data centers and energy.