Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: August 11, 2026, 11:46 AM ET

Mega-Deals & Take-Private

Apollo Sports Capital agreed to a $2.6bn capital infusion for Yankee Global Enterprises, the holding company behind the New York Yankees, with the proceeds earmarked for franchise growth and debt refinancing, as PE Insights reported. In Asia, TPG struck a $925m deal to acquire a controlling stake in Lotte Rental, South Korea’s largest car-rental and leasing operator. On the take-private front, Apollo landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in what is being described as a landmark European public-to-private transaction.

Continuation Vehicles & Secondaries

Exponent closed a €750m single-asset continuation vehicle for H&MV Engineering, tapping Apollo, Pantheon, and SQ Capital as co-leads. The deal, which valued the high-voltage engineering services firm at €1.4bn, was covered by Secondaries Investor and detailed as a single-asset CV. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti, in a separate interview, argued that the most mispricing opportunities currently lie in European assets and secondaries. A roundup from PE Hub also highlighted Ardian’s views on mispricing alongside other deal activity.

Middle-Market Buyouts

A flurry of acquisitions marked the middle market. Godspeed-backed BNP Group acquired cost management firm US Cost Incorporated from Schneider S.E., while Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands purchased Starborn Industries. Vance Street-backed Keltec snapped up AJF Filtration, and Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing acquired Coast to Coast Contracting. CCMP Growth-backed Airo bought specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises, while Quad-C invested in occupational safety platform Paradigm. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners, and New Heritage invested in locomotive parts manufacturer Power Rail. HIG Capital completed the acquisition of UK engineering firm Phoenix ME, and Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group. Meanwhile, private equity is increasingly targeting Europe’s growing HVAC market, as noted in a Europe Wire roundup.

AI Infrastructure & Compute

Wall Street’s largest private capital firms are mobilizing over $500bn to turn NVIDIA compute and full-stack AI infrastructure into an investable asset class. Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR are lining up behind NVIDIA, while a broader consortium including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and others was detailed in a PE Hub report. Sovereign wealth funds are also leading the AI investing charge, according to a Side Letter column, which also noted the rise of PE talent in Spain and big deals in Africa. In a Crunchbase op-ed, Bob Morse argues that AI is a business change, not a technology change, and that the biggest productivity gains come from redesigning workflows around AI.

Venture Capital & Early-Stage

Euan Blair, son of former UK prime minister Tony Blair, is seeking $200m for a new defence startup, according to reports. Latin America’s influential VC firm Monashees is crossing into Silicon Valley with a San Francisco office, betting the next phase of the region’s ecosystem requires a permanent US presence. At South Summit 2026, three trends are shaping the future of European tech. VCs have also identified 17 physical AI startups to watch, while First Momentum’s cofounder highlighted the most underrated areas in deeptech according to the firm.

LP Activity & Fundraising

Step Stone Group has surpassed $20bn in private wealth assets under management, reaching $21bn as its venture- and growth-focused SPRING vehicle attracted nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions during the quarter. Separately, the Plymouth County Retirement Association has issued an RFP for a North American private equity manager, signalling ongoing institutional demand for the asset class.