Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: August 28, 2026, 2:49 AM ET

Deal Flow

Private equity dealmaking showed no signs of an August slowdown, with several large transactions closing across the sector. Apollo acquired a significant interest in Atlantic Aviation, one of the largest US private aviation infrastructure platforms, in a deal valuing the business at nearly $10bn. The transaction allows KKR, which had backed the company, to double its money while retaining an ownership position. In a separate major infrastructure move, KKR and IMM agreed to invest a combined $2.23bn (KRW 3.08tn) in SK Horizon, a new AI data centre company being spun out of SK Telecom.

The AI infrastructure theme extended to the compute layer, with Anthropic striking a $45bn deal with Nscale to rent compute capacity, while Nvidia reportedly agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9bn. In the identity verification space, Socure secured $156M in strategic growth funding at a $5.2bn valuation and simultaneously acquired AI fraud investigation startup Fravity.

Mid-Market Activity

Lower-mid-market buyouts remained active, with GenNx360 closing its fourth fund at $865m, exceeding target and marking the largest fundraise in the firm's two-decade history. The firm will deploy the capital into services-focused buyouts. In the wealth management sector, FTV Capital made a growth investment in Kingsview Partners, an integrated wealth platform serving more than 15,000 households through a national independent RIA network.

Several platform roll-ups continued across verticals. BV Investment-backed Imagenet acquired data firm Analytica Consulting, which works with US government agencies and commercial clients in healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing and education. Leeds Equity-backed engage2learn purchased Instructional Coaching Group, a Nebraska-based provider of professional development and coaching frameworks for educators. Great Point-backed VetnCare added Geary Veterinary Hospital, a nearly five-decade-old practice in Walnut Creek, California. Continuim took a majority stake in Resodyn, which will serve as its strategic platform in industrial mixing and materials processing. GHK-backed WSB acquired Foresight Planning & Engineering Services, an Austin-based consulting firm specializing in geotechnical and structural engineering.

Consumer and Brand Deals

The consumer space saw notable transactions, including Authentic Brands acquiring the IP of Drake's lifestyle brand OVO. Authentic, backed by CVC Capital Partners, General Atlantic and Leonard Green & Partners, continues to expand its portfolio of celebrity and lifestyle brands. In the fashion technology space, Atorie raised $9.5M to bring consumers luxury goods without the retail markup, sourcing handbags and clothes from the same factories used by high-end manufacturers.

Sector Trends and Valuations

The fire safety and life safety market continues to command premium valuations, according to JPMorgan's David Sweet, who discussed the "battleship defensibility" of platforms in the space. The total addressable market for fire safety add-ons is $150bn, split evenly between fire safety and alarm systems. Meanwhile, KKR's Industrial Physics scooped up an electrical testing firm from Branford Castle in a separate deal.

Private equity firms are increasingly targeting tourism, leisure and travel, driven by AI adaptation and increased consumer spending. Altor, BGF, Nazca Capital and TDR Capital are among the firms transacting in the sector. In Canada, CVC DIF scaled its tower platform with portfolio company Aurora Towers agreeing to acquire American Tower's Canadian business of 255 communication sites.

Secondaries and Fundraising

The secondaries market is poised for significant growth, with volumes potentially reaching $1trn in four years as the solution to private equity's liquidity dearth. Foundations are also increasing their private equity allocations, according to PE International's latest Side Letter briefing, which also notes AI is rendering Warburg a banking bull and M&G's PE head is on the move.

European tech funding reached its second-busiest August on record, with 10 under-the-radar rounds worth noting despite the traditional summer slowdown. US venture capital firms remain highly active in Europe, with the most active US VCs continuing to deploy capital across the continent.

Healthcare and Regulatory

Healthcare private equity is weathering the "Saa Spocalypse," according to a Bain report, though disclosed healthcare buyout value fell to $51bn in H1 2026 from around $60bn a year earlier. Pressures from AI disruption and the Iran war contributed to the slowdown.

In regulatory news, KKR agreed to pay a record $250m penalty to settle a US Justice Department lawsuit alleging it repeatedly broke federal merger-filing rules — the largest civil penalty ever imposed for such violations.

Industry Commentary

A critical opinion piece from Claymore Partners' Lee McCabe argues that private equity's operating function needs fewer ornamental experts, fewer fashionable titles and more teeth. The piece challenges the prevailing approach to operating partners in the industry, suggesting firms should focus on substantive operational improvements rather than cosmetic appointments.

Finally, in a profile of non-traditional founders, Craft CEO Ilya Levtov — a Juilliard-trained cellist who never learned to code — built a $42m supply chain software company, demonstrating that domain expertise and customer understanding can sometimes trump technical backgrounds in venture-backed businesses.