Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Major Exits & Secondary Sales
Private equity firms realized record exits privateequityinternational.com in 2025, with €19.5 billion generated through divestments—a 77% surge from the prior year. EQT led a $5.5 billion share sale pe-insights.com of its remaining Galderma stake, marking the largest Swiss secondary exit on record. The firm is also exploring a $6 billion divestment pe-insights.com of SUSE, potentially valuing the Linux developer at over $6 billion. Meanwhile, Blackstone secured $1.2 billion in financing pe-insights.com for Air Trunk's Japanese data center expansion, reflecting continued appetite for AI infrastructure assets.
Fundraising & Capital Deployment
Bain Capital raised $12.5 billion pe-insights.com across its latest Asia and Japan buyout funds, underscoring persistent demand for regional private equity exposure. Brookfield Asset Management is in talks to acquire pe-insights.com World Freight Company from EQT and PAI Partners in a $1.3 billion deal, while CVC Capital Partners secured €3.7 billion pe-insights.com in financing for its Global Sport Group, backed by KKR and PIMCO. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan reported 6.7% returns pe-insights.com as assets grew to $279.4 billion, highlighting strong institutional performance amid market volatility.
Strategic Investments & Platform Builds
Blackstone and Blue Owl Capital acquired a minority stake pehub.com in Atlas Holdings, expanding their industrial platform to 30 manufacturing and distribution businesses. The same investors backed a $16 billion private equity platform pe-insights.com through Atlas, signaling confidence in mid-market industrial consolidation. Ambienta acquired Pieco pehub.com, a provider of industrial water treatment and recycling solutions, while HIG Capital's Coriant completed its fourth acquisition pehub.com with CVS, building out an industrial maintenance platform. XPV Water Partners launched OceanSight pehub.com, an ocean technology platform focused on subsea sensing and imaging for maritime markets.
Technology & AI-Driven Deals
European AI startup AMI raised $1 billion news.crunchbase.com in the largest seed round ever for a European company, led by former Meta AI chief Yann LeCun to build "world model" AI systems. Swedish legal tech firm Legora tripled its valuation news.crunchbase.com to $5.55 billion with a $550 million Series D led by Accel, while Rebar raised $14 million news.crunchbase.com for AI-generated quote systems targeting commercial HVAC suppliers. Investors are prioritizing startups news.crunchbase.com demonstrating measurable outcomes and production usage over flashy demos, with venture capital recalibrating toward agentic AI applications that deliver tangible business impact.
Healthcare & Life Sciences
BV Investment invested in Moxe Health pehub.com, a clinical data exchange platform enabling secure automation between healthcare providers and insurers. Prime Infrastructure Capital acquired SierraCol Energy pe-insights.com from Carlyle, marking the private equity firm's exit from Colombian oil production. Meanwhile, Lone Star agreed to buy pehub.com Lonza's Capsules and Health Ingredients division for $1.3 billion, acquiring three segments including hard empty capsules and health ingredients.
Add-Ons & Platform Expansion
Several firms executed add-on strategies to expand existing platforms. Align Capital's portfolio company ISPN completed its second add-on pehub.com since December 2024, while E2P sold Furlani Foods to Arbor Investments pehub.com after a three-year hold following accelerated operational improvements. Main Capital-backed TMA acquired Brains First pehub.com as its second 2026 purchase, and Hyperion's Ranger bought MarkOne Safety Solutions pehub.com, a fire safety and emergency lighting systems provider.
Secondaries & GP Stakes
The secondaries market is evolving rapidly secondariesinvestor.com, with private wealth capital expanding capacity for larger deals while remaining "undercapitalized" despite increased inflows. BNP Paribas Asset Management raised €540 million pe-insights.com for its first GP stakes strategy targeting private capital managers. CPP Investments launched Project Ember secondariesinvestor.com, a $3 billion-plus portfolio sale including equal strips to buyout funds. Ardian partnered with ADIA pe-insights.com to target a $20 billion real estate secondaries opportunity, while Partners Group's CEO called AI and credit fears "wildly overdone" privateequityinternational.com, noting the firm hasn't levered its private credit evergreen funds like some peers.
Real Estate & Infrastructure
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners secured €1.3 billion pe-insights.com at first close for its flagship green credit fund, while GIC-backed Greenko Energies is considering a $1 billion IPO pe-insights.com for its renewable energy platform. In logistics real estate, Ardian agreed to buy pehub.com Italian self-storage operator Casaforte, bringing total Italian and French investments to over €300 million. Meanwhile, EQT and Global Infrastructure Partners agreed to acquire pe-insights.com AES Corp. in an all-cash transaction, valuing the utility at approximately $27 billion including debt.
Emerging Trends & Market Sentiment
Evergreen funds are outperforming closed-end peers privateequityinternational.com over one- and three-year periods, according to Hamilton Lane's 2026 Market Overview, as firms like Partners Group maintain conservative leverage. The definition of secondaries is evolving secondariesinvestor.com as market dynamics shift, with CVs expected to represent 10-20% of PE exits. Step Stone's Matthew Roche noted that "DPI is IRR today – not the new IRR – it is IRR today," reflecting the challenging four-year period for private equity exits.