Private Equity 3d Briefing – Mar 12, 2026

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Last updated: March 12, 2026, 3:30 PM ET

GP-Led Secondaries Surge

GP-led secondaries hit an all-time high secondariesinvestor.com in 2025, with volume growth prompting fresh debate on process efficiency and structural evolution. The market’s expansion is driving innovation, as structured solutions now allow assets to remain within flagship funds secondariesinvestor.com, a strategy W Capital’s David Wachter promotes to navigate what he predicts will become a more pronounced ‘K-curve market’. Meanwhile, the influx of private wealth capital is expanding capacity for larger deals secondariesinvestor.com, though Ardian’s Ava Mallin cautions the sector remains ‘undercapitalised’. Specialisation is deepening, with Lindsay Goldberg plotting a build-out of its continuation vehicle strategy secondariesinvestor.com and Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance teaming with Jasmin Capital to focus on co-control deals secondariesinvestor.com. However, exit visibility is a critical filter secondariesinvestor.com for A&M Capital, which targets mid-market deals for a better risk-return profile, while Cliffwater’s investment chief urges the industry to reconsider ‘NAV squeezing’ secondariesinvestor.com practices that create ‘weird time arbitrage’ for evergreen investors.

Infrastructure and buyout mega-funds are closing despite a broader fundraising slowdown. I Squared Capital is nearing a $10 billion commitment pe-insights.com for its flagship infrastructure fund amid sector boom, while Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners secured €1.3 billion ($1.4 at first close pe-insights.com for a green credit fund. On the buyout side, Bain Capital raised $12.5 billion pe-insights.com across its latest Asia and Japan vehicles, and Carlyle is exploring a multibillion-dollar structured financing pe-insights.com to seed its Carlyle Partners IX fund. The sheer scale of these vehicles is enabling giant take-private bids, such as Irth Capital’s $1.5 billion offer pe-insights.com for Papa John’s at $47 per share, backed by Brookfield. In a separate blockbuster, Brookfield itself is in talks to acquire World Freight Company pe-insights.com from EQT and PAI in a deal valued at approximately $1.3 billion.

AI and robotics are the dominant engines of new unicorn creation, with 27 companies joining the unicorn board in February alone, including six robotics firms. Humanoid robotics maker Sunday reached a $1.15 billion valuation techcrunch.com to build its household robot Memo, emerging from stealth with 1,000 employees. The trend extends beyond pure-play AI; Legora, an AI platform for lawyers, tripled its valuation to $5.55 billion news.crunchbase.com with a $550 million Series D led by Accel. Investors are recalibrating, however, to prioritise startups with real production usage and measurable revenue news.crunchbase.com over flashy demos. This shift is fuelling growth in applied AI, with Gumloop landing $50 million from Benchmark techcrunch.com to empower employees as AI agent builders and Rebar raising $14 million news.crunchbase.com to加速 HVAC quote generation. The sector’s gravity was underscored when Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman were reported to be exploring an AI joint venture with Anthropic pe-insights.com.

Despite a continent-wide fundraising slowdown, France remains a steady presence in European private equity privateequityinternational.com. Activity is brisk, with Quadrivio Group acquiring a majority stake in French hair care brand Les Secrets de Loly through its Made in Italy Fund II. The self-storage sector is a consolidation hotspot, as Ardian agreed to buy Italian operator Casaforte pehub.com, adding to its €300 million-plus platform in Italy and France. On the venture side, UVC Partners raised €77 million sifted.eu for a new growth fund, marking a move into multi-stage investing, while Entrepreneurs First was crowned a unicorn sifted.eu following a $200 million fundraise. Regulatory and capital flow issues loom large, with a US pension fund banning private markets from its DC portfolio privateequityinternational.com and GPs urging EU policymakers to help catalyse private capital. The green transition presents a paradox, as Europe built the regulations but struggles to fund the companies delivering them sifted.eu.

The secondary market is not just for continuation vehicles; it is facilitating record exits. EQT and its co-investors exited their remaining stake in Galderma pe-insights.com in a record-breaking $5.5 billion Swiss secondary sale. CVC Capital reported a record year of exits, realising €21.9 billion ($23.9 in 2025 privateequityinternational.com, a 77% increase on the prior year. Large portfolio sales are also accelerating, with CPP Investments launching a multi-billion-dollar PE portfolio sale secondariesinvestor.com dubbed Project Ember, including equal strips in buyout funds. In industrial carve-outs, E2P sold Furlani Foods to Arbor Investments after a three-year hold pehub.com, with the seller noting operational goals were hit faster than planned. TPG completed the sale of Intersect to Google pehub.com for $4.75 billion, spinning off the grid-tied power business into a new independent company.

Private credit is facing heightened scrutiny over defaults and leverage. Deutsche Bank disclosed a €26 billion ($30 private credit exposure pe-insights.com as it plans expansion, while Partners Group chair Steffen Meister warned that default rates could rise as AI reshapes markets pe-insights.com. His colleague, CEO David Layton, pushed back, stating AI and credit fears are ‘wildly overdone’ privateequityinternational.com and noting the firm has not levered its private credit evergreen funds like some peers. The performance debate is intensifying, with Hamilton Lane’s analysis showing evergreen funds outperforming closed-end peers privateequityinternational.com over one- and three-year periods, while a separate report notes GPs are growing less confident about PE outperformance privateequityinternational.com.

The add-on engine remains powerful across sectors. In healthcare, Bertram Capital-backed Cogency Global acquired Elemental CoSec pehub.com