Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: May 1, 2026, 5:30 PM ET

Dealmaking & Exits: Sector Focus and Firm Formations

Private equity deal activity continued across specialized sectors, with the healthcare vertical showing near-term interest in ophthalmology, as firms including Goldman Sachs, and Olympus are reportedly targeting platform investments and consolidation opportunities within eye care assets. Elsewhere in healthcare, ArchiMed announced plans to take Esperion Therapeutics private in an $1.1 billion transaction slated for closing in the third quarter of 2026. In strategic exits, AnaCap finalized the sale of the French private bank Milleis—which includes Milleis Banque and its asset management subsidiaries—to LCL and Crédit Agricole Assurances. Meanwhile, Searchlight is set to invest in the B2B events firm Closer Still Media, which is currently held by Providence Equity Partners. Furthermore, Inflexion is acquiring a minority stake in Marktlink Capital, a firm that directs capital into private equity, venture capital, and private credit funds spanning Europe and North America.

The industry also saw the official rollout of a new firm, Mako, co-founded by Oscar Munoz, the former chairman and CEO of United Airlines. Personnel movements continue to shape established firms, as Riverwood announced the appointment of Mac Hofeditz, formerly of Vector Capital Management, as a managing director. In other financing activity, Neuberger will provide backing to Flow Control Group, though the existing majority owner, KKR, will retain control, with Neuberger taking a substantial minority share. In sports finance, Avenue Sports Fund confirmed an investment into the professional soccer team, The North Carolina Courage.

AI, Defense Tech, and Portfolio Performance

Venture capital funding remains concentrated, with the San Francisco Bay Area expanding its seed funding dominance in 2025, capturing an increasing share of both deal volume and capital deployed despite broader geographic dispersion among startups. In defense and space technology, one of the week’s largest U.S. funding rounds saw space security startup True Anomaly secure $600 million, underscoring heightened private capital deployment into defense technology, alongside other large investments into AI applications for fintech and marketing. Portfolio company performance remains a key focus, with TPG noting that their software investments have recorded 20% year-on-year growth, viewing the accelerating shift toward offensive AI applications as a "positive weapon" for private equity managers.

The Democratization Trend and Market Outlook

Discussions across legal and advisory firms emphasize the growing trend of democratizing private markets access for individual investors, investors ,. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett posits that this movement is less about creating new access and more about restoring prior access to economic growth opportunities. Legal experts at Ropes & Gray suggest that hybrid fund structures are becoming an increasingly viable mechanism for bridging public and private markets access, while Kirkland & Ellis notes that structural innovation in fund vehicles is underpinning this expansion. Firms like StepStone Group are actively providing institutional-quality access to private markets for individual investors, a strategy echoed by Ardian in its push for private wealth solutions for both institutional LPs and smaller investors. Despite ongoing market turbulence, some managers believe the outlook for private equity is improving, though caution remains paramount; Partners Group stresses that while building and exiting businesses is still achievable, quality assets are more important than ever. In this environment, market volatility and low liquidity are making the case for secondaries strategies, according to Pomona Capital.