Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 15, 2026, 6:30 AM ET
Leadership Moves & Talent
Hired a managing director secondariesinvestor.com as Goldman Sachs bolstered its GP‑solutions team, adding PJT veteran Darren Schluter to deepen secondary‑market expertise. Across the Atlantic, named co‑heads pehub.com at Vistria signaled a structural shift, appointing David Schuppan and Phil Alphonse to steer its flagship funds as the firm scales its operating platform. Both moves underscore a broader trend of banks and PE houses sharpening leadership pipelines to capture rising demand for complex secondary and growth‑capital transactions.
Fundraising & Capital Deployment
Near‑$10bn fundraising pe-insights.com by I Squared Capital highlights the continued appetite for infrastructure assets, with commitments edging close to the $10 billion mark as investors chase stable, inflation‑linked returns. In Europe, pushing growth funds sifted.eu remains a policy priority, with sovereign and institutional backers earmarking fresh capital to nurture mid‑stage companies. Meanwhile, France’s private‑equity market proved steady despite slowdown privateequityinternational.com, delivering €3.2 billion in new commitments and keeping the country among the continent’s top five fund‑raising jurisdictions. Sector‑specific momentum is evident as targeting high multiples pehub.com in data‑center refrigeration and structural‑design plays drives valuation premiums that now exceed 15× EBITDA in select deals.
Secondaries Market Surge
Secondaries booming sifted.eu across Europe as liquidity‑seeking GPs and LPs flood the market, with transaction volumes up 22% month‑over‑month. The trend is illustrated by highlighting hot sales sifted.eu of stakes in high‑growth platforms such as Vinted, Eleven Labs and Iceye, where sellers secured aggregate proceeds of €1.4 billion. Analysts forecast that charting GP‑led next steps secondariesinvestor.com will further accelerate, with more firms opting for continuation vehicles and structured recapitalisations. Adding depth to the outlook, insights from alumni secondariesinvestor.com suggest a shift toward “CV‑on‑CV” strategies and greater specialisation, signaling a maturing secondary ecosystem that could reshape capital allocation for the next decade.
Strategic Exits & Acquisitions
Exited Forged Solutions pehub.com as Arlington Capital completed a sale to JF Lehman & Co., delivering a 2.3× multiple on invested capital for its limited partners. In the consumer‑goods arena, acquired Metalunic pehub.com gave Norea Capital a foothold in specialized metal‑panel manufacturing, expanding its European industrial portfolio. Utilities saw consolidation when bought Peak Utility pehub.com was acquired by Greenbelt, adding over 150 service contracts and positioning the buyer for cross‑border expansion. Energy‑focused divestitures continued with sold Pillar assets pehub.com to Trailblazer Energy Resources, a deal that transferred Eagle Ford shale assets valued at $420 million and underscored the ongoing reshuffling of U.S. shale holdings.
Sector‑Specific PE Activity
Healthcare investors intensified focus on women’s health, with investing in women’s health pehub.com deals spanning fertility, menopause and digital therapeutics; Ardian, Charterhouse, CVC and L Catterton collectively deployed €1.1 billion across six transactions, reflecting rising demand for gender‑specific solutions. In energy infrastructure, buying gas power assets pehub.com saw Arc Light secure a 50% stake in a 5.4 GW natural‑gas portfolio, adding eleven combined‑cycle plants across North America and Canada to its asset base. Meanwhile, Irth Capital launched a bid for Papa John’s pe-insights.com valued at $1.5 billion, offering $47 per share and testing the appetite of pizza‑chain shareholders for a strategic takeover backed by Brookfield.
Deal Structuring & LP Considerations
Advocating LP‑friendly CVs secondariesinvestor.com at Lexington Partners highlighted a “healthy” shift toward continuation vehicles, arguing that higher roll‑over rates improve liquidity for limited partners. Complementing this view, promoting structured solutions secondariesinvestor.com from W Capital emphasized the importance of retaining assets within flagship funds to mitigate the emerging “K‑curve” market dynamics. However, regulatory headwinds surfaced as a major U.S. pension announced a pension DC ban privateequityinternational.com on private‑market allocations, prompting GPs to lobby EU policymakers for clearer guidelines. Adding to the risk‑management narrative, Deutsche Bank disclosed a disclosed $30bn credit pe-insights.com private‑credit exposure, signaling that banks are now quantifying and publicising their non‑bank loan books amid heightened supervisory scrutiny.