Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: May 20, 2026, 2:30 PM ET

Healthcare Megadeals

The private equity world added a heavyweight to its roster as London-based GHO Capital and Singapore-headquartered CBC Group agreed to merge, creating what the two firms call the world's largest dedicated healthcare investment manager with over $21 billion in assets under management. Co-founders Mike Mortimer and Fu Wei will serve as co-CEOs of the combined entity, underscoring the depth of talent retained through the transaction. The deal comes on the heels of another healthcare exit, as Carlyle Group completed a five-year run with iC Consult that saw revenue compound at 20 percent annually by capitalizing on surging demand for identity security services, paving the way for a pending sale to Bridgepoint. Meanwhile, Bregal Sagemount and Ardian co-invested in health tech firm Ennov, targeting AI-driven product innovation and global go-to-market expansion. The flurry of activity reflects a broader healthcare appetite: Q1 2026 saw 27 continuation vehicle deals close, with nine involving asset classes beyond traditional private equity, according to secondaries data.

Energy and Platform Building

In the energy space, EIG-backed Mid Ocean secured $120 million from The Arab Energy Fund, reinforcing the appeal of liquefied natural gas infrastructure as a private equity asset class. On the divestiture side, Post Oak sold its UpCurve Energy assets, which include oil and gas positions in the Southern Delaware Basin of West Texas. The contrasting signals — fresh capital flowing into LNG plays while legacy upstream positions are being unwound — suggest a bifurcated energy market where midstream and transition fuels attract more private capital than traditional production assets. Over in Europe, Switzerland's Publica is preparing to commit up to $1.1 billion to direct lending strategies, a move that could expand the pool of debt capital available to PE-backed platforms across the continent.

Home Services and Consumer Consolidation

A wave of platform consolidation continued in the home services sector. Gryphon-backed Southern Home Services acquired Blazer Heating, Air & Plumbing, adding to its footprint across the Southeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic markets. Nautic-backed Integrated Home Care Services scooped up Dina Care, strengthening its position as an in-home benefit manager in the Florida market. TSCP-backed Pest Co snapped up University Termite & Pest Control, extending its pest control footprint from St. Louis into new geographies. In the wellness space, Yellow Wood-backed Scholl's Wellness Company acquired athletic performance brand Vktry, adding to the Dr. Scholl's parent company's portfolio of consumer health brands. Grey Lion also made its move, investing in precision cleaning specialist Tanis Brush, whose products serve industrial and material handling markets. Taken together, the deals point to a continued appetite for roll-up strategies in fragmented, service-oriented verticals.

Secondaries and Structural Shifts

The secondaries market is gaining momentum as LPs and GPs alike seek shorter duration exposure. Investec's Callum Bell described secondaries as an "excellent way" to accelerate platform growth, citing the firm's inaugural European senior debt fund, which was launched through a secondaries process backed by Carlyle Alp Invest. Aqualis is targeting a debut secondaries fund focused on smaller transactions that larger managers tend to overlook. At the same time, longer holding periods are reshaping PE structures, according to PE International, while GP stake sales are raising new diligence questions for limited partners evaluating fund commitments. The sector's growth is also being tracked through data: Q1 saw 27 continuation vehicle deals close, and nine of those crossed into non-PE asset classes.

Brand-Name Bets and Outsize Valuations

Private equity's appetite for marquee assets extends beyond traditional sectors. Arctos Partners acquired a 10 percent stake in the Cleveland Browns at a valuation exceeding $9 billion, with the NFL franchise becoming a new asset in the firm's portfolio. Meanwhile, Balderton-backed payments startup Primer raised $100 million in a Series C round, reflecting strong European venture capital appetite for fintech infrastructure. Across Asia, China-based robotics companies have already raised $5.6 billion across 176 deals through mid-May, driven by embodied AI technologies and building IPO momentum, according to Crunchbase data. On the healthcare side, a founder who spent six figures on fertility treatment launched Gaia, an IVF startup using AI trained on millions of anonymized historical fertility outcomes to offer "outcome protection" to patients. The diversity of capital deployment — from NFL franchises to robotics to fertility tech — suggests PE and VC capital are flowing into any asset class offering differentiated data advantages or platform scale.