Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 13, 2026, 4:30 AM ET
Secondaries Market Surge & Structural Evolution
The European secondaries market is experiencing unprecedented activity, with GP-led deals hitting record volumes secondariesinvestor.com as general partners increasingly use continuation vehicles to retain control of prized assets. This trend is fueled by novel offers from buyers like New Mountain Capital’s unexpected bid privateequityinternational.com to take assets directly off a GP’s hands, a tactic expected to rise. Structured solutions are gaining traction, with firms like W Capital advocating for compounding assets secondariesinvestor.com within flagship funds to avoid a potential ‘K-curve market’ where only top performers attract capital. Meanwhile, the practice of NAV ‘squeezing’ in continuation vehicles faces scrutiny, with Cliffwater’s CIO warning secondariesinvestor.com of ‘weird time arbitrage’ harming evergreen investors. The market’s expansion is attracting new entrants, including General Atlantic partnering with Clipway secondariesinvestor.com to target $1 billion for growth equity secondaries, while Lindsay Goldberg plots its entry secondariesinvestor.com into the space. Deal volume may be at an all-time high, but CV dealmakers are addressing LP process pain points secondariesinvestor.com as dissatisfaction with transaction complexity persists. The breadth of activity is stark, from EQT’s record $5.5 billion secondary exit pe-insights.com of Galderma to CVC’s reported €21.9 billion in realised exits privateequityinternational.com for 2025, a 77% year-on-year increase.
AI & Technology Driving Venture Capital Activity
Artificial intelligence remains the dominant force in venture capital, minting unicorns at a rapid pace and prompting a recalibration of investment theses toward measurable outcomes over hype. While OpenAI captured headlines, robotics and semiconductor startups quietly added the most new unicorns news.crunchbase.com in February, with 27 companies total achieving billion-dollar status. This frenzy is supported by the return of VC mega-funds, with General Catalyst rumored to be raising $10 billion techcrunch.com and Spark Capital $3 billion. Specific deployments show AI’s reach: Gumloop landed $50 million from Benchmark techcrunch.com to empower employees as AI agent builders, and Breakout Ventures raised $114 million techcrunch.com for AI science startups. The focus is shifting to production-ready applications, as investors recalibrate around agentic AI news.crunchbase.com to prioritize real revenue and usage. In Europe, the AI boom is regionalized, with Paris-based AMI raising $1 billion news.crunchbase.com for "world model" research in Europe’s largest seed round ever, while Swedish legal tech Legora tripled its valuation to $5.55 billion news.crunchbase.com on an AI platform for lawyers. The sector’s growth is also reshaping M&A, with Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman exploring an AI joint venture with Anthropic pe-insights.com, highlighting private equity’s scramble for AI infrastructure.
Major Exits, Fundraising & Infrastructure Boom
The exit environment showed signs of resilience with several blockbuster deals, even as fundraising pressures continue. TPG completed a $4.75 billion sale pehub.com of Intersect to Google, while EQT is exploring a potential $6 billion divestment pe-insights.com of Linux developer SUSE. The infrastructure sector is a particular hotspot, with I Squared Capital nearing $10 billion pe-insights.com for its flagship fund and ArcLight acquiring a 50% stake pehub.com in a 5.4 GW gas power portfolio. This aligns with a broader push into energy transition assets, as Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners secured €1.3 billion pe-insights.com for its green credit fund. On the fundraising front, Bain Capital raised $12.5 billion pe-insights.com across its Asia and Japan buyout vehicles, underscoring continued LP commitment to the region. The private credit boom also continues, though with caveats: Deutsche Bank disclosed $30 billion in private credit exposure pe-insights.com as it plans expansion, while Partners Group’s chairman warned pe-insights.com that AI-driven market shifts could increase default rates, a view his firm’s CEO later called ‘wildly overdone’ privateequityinternational.com. Structuring is becoming more creative, with Carlyle planning structured financing pe-insights.com to seed its next flagship fund and Blackstone and Blue Owl buying a minority stake pe-insights.com in the $16 billion Atlas Holdings platform.
European Focus & Sector-Specific Moves
Europe’s private equity landscape remains steady despite broader slowdowns, with France a consistent performer according to PE International’s analysis privateequityinternational.com. The region produced notable unicorns, including health insurance Alan hitting a €5 billion valuation sifted.eu and Entrepreneurs First crowned a unicorn sifted.eu after a $200 million raise. Regulatory milestones like Revolut finally securing a UK banking licence sifted.eu could reshape fintech exits. In secondaries, BNP Paribas gathered €540 million pe-insights.com for a GP stakes strategy, while CPP Investments launched a multi-billion-dollar portfolio sale secondariesinvestor.com dubbed Project Ember. Sector-specific activity was brisk: Quadrivio Group acquired a majority stake pe-insights.com in French hair care brand Les Secrets de Loly, and Warburg Pincus explored options pe-insights.com for Southeast Asian insurer Oona. The beauty and Med Tech sectors are seen as ripe for carve-outs, according to Auréa’s Aparna Aiyar pehub.com, who cites premium valuations for Med Tech infrastructure. Add-on acquisitions dominated the mid-market, with deals spanning from AE Industrial’s AIM MRO buying AA Bushings pehub.com to Riverglade-backed Dynamic Access acquiring Picc Stat pehub.com. The trend toward operational consolidation is clear, as firms like E2P sold Furlani Foods to Arbor Investments pehub.com after a three-year hold, having hit operational goals ahead of schedule.