Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: May 21, 2026, 5:30 AM ET

Secondaries Surge as Managers Rethink Fund Structures

Secondaries trading hit a new stride in Q1 2026, with 27 continuity vehicles closing and nine involving asset classes beyond traditional private equity, according to fresh data Secondaries Q1 2026 CV Deal Log. The growth is accelerating across infrastructure, where managers like Macquarie Asset Management and Baird see a "tremendous tailwind" from aging assets and a flood of capital seeking yield infra secondaries' growth. Pantheon's new $1bn corporate finance offering has opened the market to insurance investors that lost access to direct PE, while the firm's debut CFO structure doubles as a capital-raising strategy that appeals to LPs looking for shorter cycles Pantheon's CFO launch. Investec launched its inaugural European senior debt fund through a secondaries process backed by Carlyle Alp Invest, calling the route an "excellent way" to speed up platform growth Investec's secondaries push. Aqualis is targeting smaller transactions it views as underserved, and Extended's extended holding periods are reshaping PE structures more broadly Aqualis debuts secondaries fund. Meanwhile, managers selling minority stakes in their own firms are prompting LPs to reassess fund-level diligence, as the GP stake sales boom raises questions about alignment GP stake sales boom.

AI Goes Deep in PE Portfolios

EQT CEO Per Franzén declared AI "the most important theme of our generation" and signaled a "very, very high sense of urgency" to operationalize it across portfolio companies, including rewriting legacy code that could expand PE's investable universe EQT's AI urgency. Bregal Sagemount and Ardian backed health tech firm Ennov with a mandate to accelerate AI innovation and global go-to-market scaling Bregal and Ardian back Ennov. In China, embodied AI is fueling a robotics funding wave: through mid-May, domestic robotics companies had raised $5.6 billion across 176 deals, matching the prior year's total Chinese robotics funding. European founders are pushing back on the assumption that large-language model developers will devour vertical AI companies, with Lexroom's CEO arguing Anthropic won't kill niche plays Lexroom CEO on Anthropic. Back in the U.S., OpenAI CEO Sam Altman offered to invest tokens for equity in every Y Combinator startup in the current class, a move that could funnel venture capital toward AI-first founders Altman's YC offer. At the same time, one founder raised $20 million from ARK Invest for an eSports gamification startup without mentioning AI in the pitch, suggesting investors still have appetite for non-AI narratives when the unit economics are strong Lucra's non-AI raise.

European Tech and Quantum Betting on the Continent

European fintech is entering a new wave beyond sleek interfaces, with investors backing deeper infrastructure layers European fintech wave. Switzerland's Publica, the national pension fund, is preparing to commit up to $1.1bn to direct lending strategies, a move that signals growing institutional appetite for private credit outside traditional banking channels Publica's $1.1bn direct lending push. Quantum computing is emerging as another continental advantage, though Sifted reports that U.S. tech giants are positioned to acquire European quantum startups before they scale. A biotech company, Imperagen, announced a £5 million seed round to apply quantum physics and AI to enzyme engineering Imperagen's quantum seed round. Nobel laureate Jean-Pierre Sauvage told Sifted that Europe's AI future hinges on a UK-France-Germany DARPA-style alliance, a proposal that faces political coordination hurdles Europe's AI future depends on DARPA alliance. Even cultural norms are shifting: Sifted profiles the radical idea of taking Sundays off as a competitive advantage for European tech workers European tech Sunday off.

Deals and Platform Building

PE-backed consolidation continued across sectors. Aqualis set a target for its debut secondaries fund focused on smaller transactions Aqualis debut secondaries. On the buyout side, Carlyle grew iC Consult at 20% annual revenue before selling it to Bridgepoint, while Arctos Partners took a 10% stake in the Cleveland Browns at a valuation exceeding $9bn Carlyle's iC Consult growth Arctos Browns stake. EIG-backed Mid Ocean raised $120 million from The Arab Energy Fund, and Yellow Wood-backed Scholl's Wellness acquired athletic brand Vktry MidOcean's $120m raise. Gryphon-backed Southern Home Services bought Blazer Heating, Air & Plumbing, TSCP-backed Pest Co snapped up University Termite & Pest Control, and Nautic-backed Integrated Home Care acquired Dina Care Southern Home Services acquisition Integrated Home Care acquisition. Post Oak sold its UpCurve Energy assets in the Southern Delaware Basin, while Wynnchurch exited Ironform, a precision metal fabricator serving agriculture and construction Post Oak sells UpCurve. Grey Lion invested in Tanis Brush, a precision cleaning and material handling manufacturer GreyLion invests in Tanis Brush. Mercury, a digital banking startup, raised $200 million at a $5.2 billion valuation, up 49% from its prior round Mercury's $200M raise. ACP-backed Marco acquired Pride Seals in specialty components Marco acquires Pride Seals. Partners Group launched a Total Return Strategy targeting up to 12-year holds with an emphasis on immediate cash yield alongside equity appreciation Partners Group long-hold strategy. In healthcare, Gaia raised funding for an IVF startup using AI-trained models on historical fertility outcomes to offer "outcome protection" Gaia's IVF raise.