Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Major PE Exits & Acquisitions
Carlyle exited SierraCol Energy pe-insights.com to Prime Infrastructure Capital, marking the firm's departure from Colombian oil production, while Blackstone secured a majority stake pehub.com in Advanced Cooling Technologies, targeting the data center infrastructure sector where "power management and cooling requirements exceed those of traditional industrial applications," according to Blackstone's Mark Zhu. Meanwhile, TPG completed Intersect's $4.75 billion sale pehub.com to Google, spinning off the grid-tied power business into an independent company backed by existing investors including Climate Adaptive Infrastructure and Greenbelt Capital Partners.
Fundraising & Investment Activity
Bain Capital raised $12.5 billion pe-insights.com across its latest Asia and Japan buyout funds, underscoring continued investor confidence in the region despite macroeconomic headwinds. Blackstone and Blue Owl backed Atlas Holdings pe-insights.com with a $16 billion platform investment, expanding their minority stake in the industrial conglomerate. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan reported a 6.7% return pe-insights.com as assets grew to $279.4 billion, while BNP Paribas raised €540 million pe-insights.com for its first GP stakes strategy targeting private capital managers.
Portfolio Company Activity
Bertram Capital-backed Cogency Global acquired Elemental CoSec pehub.com to expand its UK governance, company secretarial, and compliance capabilities. North Edge-backed Ramarketing picked up ISR Market Research pehub.com, a specialist research firm focused on pharmaceutical outsourcing. Align Capital portfolio company ISPN made its second add-on acquisition pehub.com since partnering with the firm in December 2024. Thompson Street-backed ATIS acquired Soberman Engineering pehub.com, expanding its vertical transportation consulting capabilities across new construction and modernization projects.
Infrastructure & Energy Investments
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners secured €1.3 billion pe-insights.com at first close for its flagship green credit fund, approximately $1.4 billion, targeting renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure projects. GIC-backed Greenko Energies is weighing a potential $1 billion IPO pe-insights.com as the renewable developer looks to capitalize on growing demand for clean energy solutions. XPV Water Partners launched OceanSight pehub.com, an ocean technology platform advancing subsea sensing and imaging across maritime and offshore markets.
Secondaries & Portfolio Sales
CPP Investments brought a multi-billion-dollar PE portfolio secondariesinvestor.com to market, dubbed Project Ember, including equal strips to buyout funds. Ardian and ADIA targeted a $20 billion real estate secondaries opportunity pe-insights.com through a dedicated partnership. Step Stone's Matt Roche noted that "DPI is IRR today – not the new IRR – it is IRR today," highlighting the importance of structure in LP sales to bridge slow exit environments. The secondaries market remains "undercapitalized" despite influxes of private wealth capital, according to Ardian's Ava Mallin.
Strategic Moves & Market Positioning
Carlyle explored structured financing pe-insights.com to seed its flagship Carlyle Partners IX fund, potentially involving multibillion-dollar arrangements. EQT eyed a $6 billion divestment pe-insights.com of Linux developer SUSE, while Advent International considered a $4 billion divestment pe-insights.com of naval defense business Ultra Maritime. Blackstone engaged Citigroup pe-insights.com for a potential $1 billion sale of Shya Hsin Packaging, signaling continued activity in the industrial manufacturing sector.
Add-on Acquisitions & Platform Building
HIG-backed Coriant made its fourth acquisition pehub.com with CVS, following the recent launch of the industrial maintenance platform combining Rainham, Zenith, and Tei. Ambienta acquired Pieco pehub.com, a provider of industrial water treatment and recycling services, expanding its environmental technology portfolio. Main Capital-backed TMA completed its second acquisition pehub.com of 2026 with Brains First, while FFL Partners formed Pioneer HOA pehub.com, a holding company for homeowners association property management investments.
Technology & Innovation Focus
Swedish legal tech startup Legora tripled its valuation to $5.55 billion news.crunchbase.com with a $550 million Series D led by Accel, building AI platforms specifically for lawyers. Turing Award winner Yann LeCun's new AI lab AMI raised $1 billion news.crunchbase.com in Europe's largest seed round ever, targeting "world models" for artificial intelligence development. Rebar raised $14 million news.crunchbase.com in Series A funding to help HVAC suppliers generate quotes faster with AI, while BV Investment backed Moxe Health pehub.com, a clinical data exchange platform enabling secure automation between healthcare providers and health plans.
Market Sentiment & Industry Trends
Partners Group chief David Layton stated that AI and credit fears are "wildly overdone," noting the firm has not levered its private credit evergreen funds to the same extent as some peers. The Series B pipeline looked refreshingly diversified news.crunchbase.com as annual funding moved steadily higher following 2023's low, with 2026 off to a strong start. Private wealth capital continues expanding capacity for larger deals, though the secondaries market remains undercapitalized despite significant inflows, according to Ardian's Mallin.
Regional & Sectoral Developments
Bain Capital's sifted.eu $12.5 billion Asia and Japan fundraise highlighted continued investor confidence in the region, while Middle East investors were identified as an "important source of capital" by top European LPs. The Nordic startup ecosystem showed strength with 21 female founders and operators identified as ones to watch, alongside billion-dollar fund Kembara's founder declaring that "missing out on the deeptech era is unforgivable." Meanwhile, Denmark's proposed wealth tax plan was criticized as potentially disastrous for startups in the region.