Private Equity 24-Hour Briefing
×Last updated: July 7, 2026, 8:30 AM ET
Private Equity Dealmaking & Fundraising
Private equity firms continued a busy transaction schedule across diverse sectors. HCPI sold pehub.com Epicurean Butter to Solina USA, marking the culmination of a four-year partnership. Sentinel acquired cake decorations supplier Deco Pac from Kohlberg, while Capitol Meridian snapped up national security infrastructure firm Westway Enterprises to accelerate its expansion into classified work. In the food sector, Apheon acquired French frozen snack group Alma and EQT agreed to purchase Corza Medical's biosurgery unit, including the Tacho Sil product portfolio, from GTCR EQT to acquire pehub.com. Unity Partners bolstered its accounting and insurance services portfolio with the purchase of Meaden & Moore Advisors, anticipating further add-on acquisitions. Rotunda-backed RMH Systems expanded its industrial automation offerings by acquiring material handling integrator Top Shelf, and NMS-backed Surplus Solutions bolstered its life sciences equipment lifecycle management business with the acquisition of health tech firm DCM Bio Services NMS-backed Surplus Solutions scoops pehub.com. Argus took a controlling stake in logistics firm K&L Freight Management, specializing in time-sensitive freight services for critical industries.
Energy Transition & Infrastructure Investments
The energy transition and infrastructure sectors saw significant private equity interest. Blackstone acquired Dresser Utility Solutions from First Reserve for its new energy transition fund, focusing on natural gas and water infrastructure equipment. Permira is making a strategic investment in Iberian engineering group Quadrante, its second deal under its Energy Transition strategy. Avance backed infrastructure firm Lexxel, with management reinvesting alongside the firm. Advent took a minority stake in Italian space and defense propulsion group Avio to support its solid rocket motor expansion, while Advent-backed Cobham Ultra is set to sell its undersea warfare solutions provider Ultra Maritime for $3.45bn Advent-backed Cobham Ultra sell pehub.com.
Sports & Alternative Assets
Alternative assets continue to attract private equity capital, with sports franchises emerging as a key focus. Blue Owl Capital acquired a minority equity stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers through its Home Court Partners fund, marking the sixth NBA franchise backed by the vehicle. This move signals growing investor appetite for sports as an alternative asset class.
Technology & Software Investments
Technology and software companies remained a focus for dealmakers. Thoma Bravo closed pehub.com a merger combining Hypergene and Stratsys, uniting their financial planning, portfolio management, and governance, risk, and compliance software capabilities. In a significant exit, Summit Partners divested Dreampath Diagnostics to Halma, a company that provides systems for pathology labs to track and retrieve tissue samples.
Financial Services & Wealth Management
The financial services sector saw strategic acquisitions and fund closings. KKR and TA Associates-backed Söderberg & Partners agreed to acquire Benchmark Capital, the UK financial advice business, from Schroders. In a notable move for alternative credit, Mubadala Capital opened its $25bn credit platform to third-party investors for the first time. Eurazeo successfully closed its fifth private equity secondaries program at €2.3bn, exceeding its €2bn target.
Fundraising & Investor Intentions
Investor intentions reveal a shift in strategy and a growing interest in specific asset classes. JRT Partners privateequityinternational.com, a Singaporean family office, plans to increase its exposure to secondaries. Meanwhile, Denmark’s Novo Holdings is expanding its planetary health portfolio and considering allocating capital to private equity GPs, while also targeting larger deal sizes in energy and Asia Denmark’s Novo Holdings eyes privateequityinternational.com. The firm manages $36bn for the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Startup Funding & Deeptech
North American startup funding shattered records in the first half of 2026, with investment totaling $392 billion, largely driven by artificial intelligence. This figure represents unprecedented levels of capital deployment in the startup ecosystem, according to Crunchbase data North American Startup Funding news.crunchbase.com. While specific deal details for deeptech startups were highlighted, such as Google backing Proxima Fusion in a €411m raise Google backs Proxima Fusion sifted.eu, and Hive raising $15m for its "silicon brain" technology, the broader trend points to significant capital flowing into AI and advanced technology ventures. Separately, IQM investors applauded its debut on public markets IQM investors applaud sifted.eu.
Market Commentary & Trends
Commentary from industry participants suggests a recalibration of private equity strategies. A piece in PE International noted that GPs eyeing retail capital must navigate a delicate balance Side Letter: Retail in privateequityinternational.com. Another analysis posited that while the private equity model is not fundamentally broken, the perception of uniform success is an illusion, particularly in the wake of the "easy money" era Private Take: Bad habits privateequityinternational.com. The importance of trust between managers and investors was also underscored in discussions around the new rules of fundraising new rules fundraising pehub.com.