Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Major Deals & Exits
EQT pehub.com sold its remaining shares in Azelis for €190 million, marking the firm's exit from the specialty chemicals and food ingredients service provider. CD&R pe-insights.com secured shareholder approval for its $6.2 billion acquisition of Sealed Air, with EU clearance also granted. IOP pehub.com agreed to sell retail fixtures provider Royston to LSI Industries for $320 million, with the transaction expected to close in LSI's third quarter of fiscal 2026. Behrman pehub.com sold Waterline Renewal Technologies to New Mountain-based Azuria, including brands like Perma-Liner and APM. Wynnchurch pehub.com will acquire Arcosa's barge business for $450 million, expanding its infrastructure portfolio.
Fundraising & Investment Activity
Novacap pe-insights.com closed its Technologies Fund VII at nearly $3.8 billion, surpassing its $2.75 billion target by over $1 billion. Arcmont pe-insights.com secured €1.62 billion for its complex European private credit strategy through the final close of Capital Solutions Fund II. Fusion Capital-backed Tavoron pehub.com acquired factory automation distributor Doig Corp, expanding its industrial solutions footprint. Bay Hawk pehub.com invested in Gridco, with the founding management team remaining majority shareholders. Victor Capital pehub.com backed Specialty Fenestration Group, parent company of Quikserv Inc. and Us Bullet Proofing.
GP-Led Transactions & Secondaries
The GP-led credit market is exploring different deal and return opportunities as growth continues, with the ability to select assets and ensure alignment with GPs supporting performance, according to Olga Kosters of Antares secondariesinvestor.com. Younger, high-quality portfolios are gaining ground in the LP-led market, with Ardian's Wilfred Small noting that today's secondaries market has evolved to one of asset selection and cherry picking secondariesinvestor.com. Temasek's Azalea Investment Management expects more GPs to use technology to crystallise liquidity for LPs secondariesinvestor.com. CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost emphasized that LP-GP alignment has never been more complicated amid compressed PE returns and lack of exits pehub.com.
Portfolio Company Activity
Gemspring-backed Zavation pehub.com acquired Choice Spine, expanding its spinal implants and interventional spine products business. Renovus-backed Solomon Edwards pehub.com snapped up consulting and recruiting firm CFO's Domain. Genstar-backed Docupace pehub.com acquired fintech firm Invest Edge to enhance its AI-enabled back-office software for wealth management. ONCAP-backed Komar Industries pehub.com acquired waste services firm Metro, strengthening its recycling processing solutions. Trive Capital pehub.com invested in Rolfson Oil, which subsequently acquired Flint Logistics Group.
Leadership Changes & Strategic Moves
EQT sold its remaining shares in Azelis for €190 million, marking the firm's exit from the specialty chemicals and food ingredients service provider. CD&R secured shareholder approval for its $6.2 billion acquisition of Sealed Air, with EU clearance also granted. IOP agreed to sell retail fixtures provider Royston to LSI Industries for $320 million, with the transaction expected to close in LSI's third quarter of fiscal 2026. Behrman sold Waterline Renewal Technologies to New Mountain-based Azuria, including brands like Perma-Liner and APM. Wynnchurch will acquire Arcosa's barge business for $450 million, expanding its infrastructure portfolio.
Emerging Trends & Market Outlook
Clearlake's José E. Feliciano noted that in the short term, doing a buyout of a software business or a take-private of a software business right now is probably a four-letter word, citing AI disruption concerns pehub.com. Blackstone's Foley and Khan highlighted that the energy transition fund group has been involved with nine deals ranging from $800 million to $6.5 billion. CalPERS wants its GPs to do better on transparency, with CEO Marcie Frost stating that more visibility on portfolio company data will help the $613.7 billion pension better manage its risk pehub.com. Carlyle Group expects to raise at least $200 billion in inflows by the end of 2028 as its turnaround gains traction pe-insights.com.
Infrastructure & Energy
BTG funds pe-insights.com will invest $1.05 billion in Raízen as Shell and Cosan advance their recapitalization plan for the Brazilian joint venture. CVC-owned Syntegon pe-insights.com raised $1.89 billion in debt to fund a $648 million shareholder dividend, increasing its debt load by 40%. Water infrastructure pehub.com is drawing increased interest from private equity firms keen to tap into a market with several attractive features. Ambienta's NDA is making add-ons in this space, while Hg seeks AI adoption at portcos via new initiatives.
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Sovereign Capital pehub.com acquired Apollo Home Healthcare, founded in 2014 to deliver bespoke, high-acuity care focused on children and adults with complex clinical needs. My Pediatric Doctor pehub.com secured investment from QC Capital, with Eric Doherty serving as CEO. Victor Capital backed Specialty Fenestration Group, parent company of Quikserv Inc. and Us Bullet Proofing. Inflexion's John Di Giovanni pehub.com sees exciting AI use cases in healthcare emerging.
Technology & Digital Services
Plaid pe-insights.com returned to an $8 billion valuation in an employee liquidity funding round designed to provide liquidity to employees. Baird pehub.com invested in digital safety services firm Auto Loto to support expansion of its automated worker safety solutions. Genstar-backed Docupace acquired fintech firm Invest Edge to enhance its AI-enabled back-office software for wealth management. Gencom pe-insights.com accelerated its New York hotel buying spree with family office backing, reflecting growing hospitality investment.
Regional & Sector Focus
Private equity is backing next-generation football formats with $185 million-plus in capital, flowing into digital-first, small-sided football leagues as investors seek exposure to this emerging sector pe-insights.com. Private equity tripled London office footprint with a $1.68 billion retrofit push, with firms more than tripling their share of London office acquisitions over the past period pe-insights.com. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund unit Jada plans to ramp up private credit as Stride targets $200 million Saudi deployment pe-insights.com. The New York-based firm Otro Capital looks to pursue a broader sports ecosystem after closing its $1.2 billion fund pehub.com.
Legal & Regulatory
Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to unwind approximately ¥3 trillion in strategic shareholdings held by banks as part of its reform drive pe-insights.com. EQT pe-insights.com opted not to proceed with a takeover offer for Oxford Biomedica after the British cell and gene therapy company's valuation differences halted the push. Parex pehub.com submitted a rival bid for Catalyst-backed Frontera's Colombian upstream business, proposing to buy Frontera Petroleum International Holdings for $500 million in cash.