Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: August 20, 2026, 7:24 PM ET

Private Equity M&A Activity

Battle Investment Group completed the sale of TRS Services to Allied Power Group, marking another consolidation move in the industrial services sector. TRS Services, founded in 1998, provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for industrial gas turbine components from two facilities in Houston. In a separate transaction, Albireo Energy, backed by Huron Capital, acquired Powers' regional divisions, expanding its footprint in building automation systems across the South. Powers, a family-owned provider headquartered in central Arkansas, serves commercial, institutional, and industrial clients throughout the region.

Vesey Street-backed Orthopaedic Solutions Management acquired the Orlando Orthopaedic Center, marking its 23rd deal, with the acquisition also including OOC's affiliated ambulatory surgery center, Orlando Orthopaedic Outpatient Surgery Center. Meanwhile, OceanSound Partners-backed Certerra expanded into South Florida through the acquisition of Skyrise Engineering and Testing, a geotechnical and materials testing firm founded in 2022 by Eric Stern and Richard Fesdjian.

Greybull Stewardship-backed ProHome acquired a Metro DC franchise, expanding its Mid-Atlantic reach through a builder warranty management services business that has served Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware for over two decades under founder Mike Walsh, a retired US Air Force officer. Uplift Investors completed the acquisition of Engage fi from Falfurrias Management Partners, adding a technology advisory firm that has advised banks and credit unions through more than 2,700 completed client engagements across core banking, digital banking, and payments systems.

Osceola Capital-backed Valor Exterior Partners added Wisconsin-based Dick's Roof Repair to its portfolio, expanding its presence in the Midwest home services market. Founded in 1957 by Dick Milkie and now led by his son Jeff Milkie, Dick's Roof Repair provides roofing, siding, and other exterior home services to homeowners in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. GHK Capital-backed WSB acquired Civil Infrastructure Associates, a Tennessee-based engineering firm founded in 2009 that specializes in water and wastewater utilities, civil/site design, aviation infrastructure, and surveying for municipalities and public agencies.

Vesterra-backed Bland Landscaping acquired two South Carolina firms — Charleston Grounds Management and Clear Lakes and Wetland Services — expanding its service offerings in landscaping and aquatics for commercial and homeowner association customers along South Carolina's coast. Stone Point Capital closed its purchase of Ever.Ag's risk management unit, a business providing risk management solutions to agricultural producers, processors, and cooperatives, which will operate as an independent company under current leadership with a new brand identity.

Fundraising and Capital Markets

Jefferies Credit Partners is targeting $1.16bn (€1bn) for a new private credit secondaries fund that will trade private credit loans in the secondary market, according to Bloomberg sources. The fundraising effort reflects continued investor appetite for yield-generating assets in the private credit space. Blackstone Strategic Partners anchored EQT's new AI Infrastructure Fund, demonstrating how secondaries strategies are creating blueprints for large-scale infrastructure investments.

Churchill, whose parent Nuveen Private Capital received backing from Temasek last year, partnered with the Singaporean investor's asset management platform Seviora to form a $400m CFO vehicle with collateral spanning private equity portfolios. The vehicle represents another example of insurance-linked private markets strategies gaining traction among institutional investors.

CVC agreed to a majority investment in UK rental platform OpenRent, founded in 2012 and used by more than 8.8 million landlords and tenants, with more than one in five UK tenancies now running through the platform. Separately, CVC partnered with Standard Life to launch a UK pension risk transfer platform with up to £2bn in commitments, pushing further into insurance asset management and targeting the UK's largest corporate pension schemes.

Strategic Moves and Market Trends

Charlesbank Capital Partners is in advanced talks to acquire a stake in Wood Smith Henning & Berman (WSHB), a US law firm, in a transaction worth about $700m, according to a report by the Financial Times. The deal tests the last wall keeping private equity out of the legal services sector, as regulatory changes and evolving client demands create new investment opportunities in professional services.

TJC is preparing to launch a sale process for Dental365, a dental services company active in eight states, while Apax Partners exited its residential warranties company OnCourse through a sale to Genstar. These transactions highlight continued momentum in the business services and healthcare sectors, where platform companies are attracting significant buyer interest.

Phoenix Equity Partners backed Irish occupational health provider Medmark, founded in 1987, which provides occupational health, health screening, workplace medical assessment, and employee wellbeing services to more than 500,000 employees from nine locations across Ireland. The investment reflects growing interest in healthcare services across European markets.

Technology and Venture Developments

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is positioning itself as a key event for investors seeking exposure to emerging startups, with year after year investors proving the value of exploring expo halls, meeting founders, and learning from peers on the ground. Adit Singh, an early Cerebras investor, joined Mayfield as an infrastructure partner, where he will focus on semiconductor, cybersecurity, and physical AI investments, reflecting the growing convergence between hardware and software in the AI landscape.

UK chip startup Fractile is in talks to raise funding at a $6.5bn valuation, according to reports, highlighting the premium being placed on AI chip companies amid surging demand for specialized processors. Domyn, an AI model maker, raised over $1bn, underscoring continued investor confidence in foundational AI technologies despite market volatility.

Callosum raised $100m in seed funding led by Atomico to tackle AI compute bottlenecks, addressing one of the critical infrastructure challenges facing the AI industry. Velatir, an AI infrastructure startup, raised €5m to accelerate AI adoption across Europe, reflecting growing regional interest in building out local AI capabilities.

Regulatory and Policy Developments

Transparency is becoming table stakes in private equity markets characterized by greater risk and increased regulatory scrutiny, forcing general partners to adopt more transparent reporting practices and investor communication strategies. Korean LPs are embracing private equity secondaries and mid-market strategies amid ongoing credit controversies, with some institutions expected to lean into equity-based strategies as they seek new homes for 2026 credit allocations.

AI continues to serve as a catalyst for market activity, with UK take-private deals gaining momentum as AI-driven valuations create opportunities for strategic buyers. Ridgeview signed a deal to acquire car dealership software business Pinewood, with the offer valuing Pinewood's total equity at £545 million, representing a premium of 43 percent to the company's share price on July 23.

Distressed and Special Situations

HPS and Oaktree Capital seized control of MBS Group, a supplier of lighting rigs and production equipment to film studios including Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery, following a default situation that highlights the risks facing entertainment industry suppliers amid changing content consumption patterns. The takeover by BlackRock's private credit arm and Oaktree demonstrates how distressed debt investors are finding opportunities in traditional media and entertainment sectors undergoing rapid transformation.

Starling unveiled a weekly AI rollout strategy as the fintech race intensifies among neobanks competing for market share through technological differentiation. The deployment of AI capabilities across customer service, fraud detection, and personalized financial products reflects broader trends in digital banking where artificial intelligence has become a key competitive differentiator.

Cross-Sector Implications

The convergence of AI and traditional industries is reshaping investment strategies across multiple sectors, with private equity firms increasingly looking beyond pure technology plays to identify opportunities where AI can enhance operational efficiency and drive value creation. a16z has placed bets on international AI founders over US counterparts through its Borderless Founder network initiative, supporting immigrant and international founders who bring unique perspectives from having one foot in their home country and one foot in Silicon Valley.

Software valuations remain a key focus for investors navigating market cycles, with discussions around whether current pricing represents a value vintage opportunity or continued overvaluation relative to fundamentals. GIC has undergone a sustainability shake-up while a Hong Kong investor leans deeper into private equity allocations, reflecting evolving institutional priorities around ESG considerations and geographic diversification.

The $400M CFO formed by Churchill and Temasek's Seviora represents a significant development in insurance-linked private markets strategies, where pension risk transfer mechanisms are being used to unlock capital for alternative investments. This structure, with collateral spanning private equity portfolios, demonstrates innovative approaches to aligning long-term liabilities with long-term assets in an environment of persistent low interest rates and compressed yields across traditional asset classes.