Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Major Private Equity Deals
CD&R pe-insights.com has secured shareholder approval for its $6.2bn acquisition of Sealed Air, which also received EU clearance. Meanwhile, Wynnchurch pehub.com is with acquiring Arcosa's barge business for $450m. In the education sector, KKR pe-insights.com outbids rivals to secure a majority stake in $1.3bn XCL Education, while Kinderhook pehub.com takes home health and hospice firm Enhabit private for $1.1bn. The competitive landscape heats up as Parex pehub.com submits a rival bid for Catalyst-backed Frontera's Colombian upstream business.
Fundraising & Capital Deployment
Novacap pe-insights.com has closed its Tech Fund VII at $3.8bn, exceeding its $2.75bn target by over $1bn. Otro Capital pehub.com looks to pursue a broader sports ecosystem after closing its $1.2bn fund, having previously invested in Flex Work Sports and Alpine Racing. On the institutional side, Qatar Investment Authority pe-insights.com has committed several hundred million dollars to 5C to expand its private credit capabilities, while One River pe-insights.com expanded to $3bn AUM through its acquisition of LGT Capital's quantitative investment arm.
AI & Technology Focus
Clearlake's José E. Feliciano pehub.com shared insights on how private equity firms can identify winners and losers in AI disruption at the recent NEXUS 2026 conference. Blackstone's Verdun Perry pehub.com projects exit activity will grow 30%-40% in 2026, with 2026 expected to mark pehub.com a record year for exits and secondaries volume. Thoma Bravo's Holden Spaht and New York's Anastasia Titarchuk discussed AI disruption pehub.com at the same event. KKR is testing the software market with a potential $1.5bn sale of BMC Helix pe-insights.com, an AI-driven IT service platform.
Secondaries & LP Relations
The private equity secondaries market is evolving toward younger, high-quality portfolios secondariesinvestor.com, with asset selection and cherry picking becoming key strategies according to Ardian's Wilfred Small. GP-led transactions secondariesinvestor.com are boosting exits for Azalea's offerings, while NEXUS panelists pehub.com noted that the lack of exits and compressed returns are complicating LP-GP dynamics. Lazard reports that the majority of continuation vehicles secondariesinvestor.com run by mid-market GPs in 2025 equaled 50% or more of their latest flagship funds.
Industry Trends & Portfolio Companies
Private equity firms are targeting Permian Basin assets pe-insights.com as Conoco Phillips streamlines its portfolio with a potential $2bn sale. London's office market is seeing significant PE activity as firms triple their footprint pe-insights.com with a $1.68bn retrofit push. In sports investments, Bluestone pe-insights.com has strengthened its portfolio with a USA Archery partnership ahead of the 2028 Games, while the broader sector is seeing private equity backing pe-insights.com next-generation football formats with $185m-plus in capital.
On the portfolio front, Baird pehub.com invested in digital safety services firm Auto Loto, Renovus-backed Definian pehub.com acquired data analytics consultancy Incite, and Genstar-backed Docupace pehub.com expanded its fintech capabilities by acquiring Invest Edge. Brookfield's portfolio company Radiant pehub.com merged with Ori Industries, combining Ori's distributed AI infrastructure with Radiant's global infrastructure capabilities.