Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: August 10, 2026, 2:41 PM ET

Large Cap Take-Privates

Apollo lands a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in what is being hailed as a landmark European take-private. Bernhard Capital agreed to acquire Bowman Consulting for $1bn, including a 35-day go-shop period. I Squared Capital is taking oOh!media private for $631m in equity, while a separate oOh!media article values the out-of-home advertising operator at $733m on an enterprise basis. CPP Investments is committing roughly $143m for a 49.5% stake in two Hilton hotels in Brazil.

Mid-Market Deals & Minority Stakes

New Mountain is acquiring fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon, a provider of mission-critical engineering and consulting services. Provectus Capital has made its Romanian debut by buying a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety firm. VSS closes a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation and noting that AI cannot displace infrastructure needs. KKR has taken a strategic equity investment in Crowe Advisory, the tax and advisory arm of accounting giant Crowe.

Fundraising & Institutional Capital

Brookfield raised a record $77bn in the second quarter, led by private equity, infrastructure and credit franchises. StepStone has surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM; its venture and growth-focused SPRING vehicle attracted nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions during the quarter. Korea’s Employment Insurance Fund is looking to commit 120bn won to blind-pool private equity and venture capital funds for 2026.

Dealflow Trends & Secondaries

PE dealflow logged its worst second quarter since 2020, with the TMT sector seeing the biggest drop in deal count year-on-year. Separately, dealmaking momentum wilted in the face of macro turbulence, echoing the Q2 2025 pattern. In secondaries, continuation fund activity has outstripped traditional secondaries volume, while new ESG rules could chill private markets.

Unicorns, AI & Venture Liquidity

Global new unicorn counts in the first half of 2026 have already surpassed 2025’s totals, with 195 companies joining the board. A wave of major AI IPOs could return significant liquidity to limited partners, fueling a new venture fundraising cycle. DeepMind shakeup tests the UK’s AI ambitions, and DeepMind's future has become all the more critical for the country’s tech ecosystem. Nabla's new CEO Brian Manning asserted he is "not here to be acquired."

European & Spanish Ecosystem

The Spanish mid-market entrepreneurial ecosystem is drawing dealmakers as family-owned companies approach succession decisions. Meanwhile, Revolut has been granted a French banking licence, strengthening its European foothold.