Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 19, 2026, 7:30 PM ET
Exits, Sales, and Continuation Vehicles
Private equity firms are actively testing the market for large exits, while simultaneously utilizing continuation vehicles (CVs) to manage assets amid a persistent exit bottleneck. CVC Capital Partners and Nordic Capital pe-insights.com are exploring options to divest their stake in Cary Group pe-insights.com, potentially valuing the business at over €3 billion, while Advent and Cinven pe-insights.com are examining a possible €25 billion exit for TK Elevator pe-insights.com as Kone enters takeover talks pe-insights.com. On the CV front, QHP Capital pehub.com finalized a significant $1.1 billion continuation fund for Azurity Pharmaceuticals pehub.com, which was led by Harbour Vest Partners pehub.com with participation from Pantheon Ventures pehub.com. Furthermore, Ares Management pe-insights.com led a €300 million CV for Europastry pe-insights.com following a halt in its intended IPO, a separate transaction from the one where MCH completed a CV pehub.com for the same frozen baked goods company prior to the IPO halt pe-insights.com. The secondaries market is also seeing activity, with Bindley Capital-backed Guardian Pharmacy Services pehub.com pricing a "synthetic secondary" offering, and Ares also leading a CV secondariesinvestor.com for Fremman’s nursery operator Kids Planet secondariesinvestor.com valued over £400 million.
Sector-Specific Transactions and Platform Builds
Dealmaking over the past few days shows continued appetite for specialized services, particularly within healthcare, infrastructure, and niche industrial sectors. Blackstone-backed Chartis pehub.com, a healthcare advisor, acquired health tech firm Leap AI pehub.com, while in a separate healthcare consolidation, B-Flexion Life Sciences-backed companies Paratek and Radius Health pehub.com merged, supported by a $1.3 billion financing led by Blackstone Credit & Insurance pe-insights.com. Infrastructure saw a major transaction as LS Power pehub.com agreed to purchase approximately 4.4 gigawatts of natural gas generation capacity from Constellation Energy pehub.com for $5 billion. In the industrial and services space, Sterling pehub.com secured a bolt-on acquisition, snapping up managed IT services firm Cyber Advisors pehub.com, and under its automation platform, LFM pehub.com purchased manufacturer PowerBuilt pehub.com. Meanwhile, defense technology remains a focus, with ETNA pehub.com preparing to acquire high-precision electro-optical systems developer Brolis Defence Group pehub.com, following strong market sentiment after Swarmer's 520% IPO debut news.crunchbase.com.
Fundraising, Strategy Shifts, and Personnel Moves
Firms are adapting strategies in response to market pressures, with some regional funds seeking capital to capitalize on local opportunities. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) pe-insights.com committed $40 million toward the Templeton Türkiye private equity fund pe-insights.com, which is targeting a total raise of $300 million. In parallel efforts to capture demographic shifts, TPG pe-insights.com launched One Aged Care pe-insights.com platform to address demand for elderly healthcare services in Singapore and Malaysia. The secondaries market continues to evolve, exemplified by HighVista Strategies pehub.com appointing Raudel Yanez pehub.com to launch a GP-led secondaries investing strategy focused on the lower middle market. In personnel news, American Pacific pehub.com promoted Rahul Mohan pehub.com to managing director, and former CVC MD Jonathan Au secondariesinvestor.com joined Revelation Partners secondariesinvestor.com, while Jennifer Roach pehub.com was named managing director at Manna Tree pehub.com.
Liquidity Concerns and LP Discipline
Liquidity management remains a concern for institutional investors, prompting some to re-evaluate existing allocations. Maine's pension fund secondariesinvestor.com is signaling a forthcoming second cut to its private equity target in four years and may execute secondaries sales in specific instances to manage exposure. This caution reflects broader sentiment, as another US pension privateequityinternational.com reportedly slashed its PE allocation due to liquidity concerns, even as APAC markets received a liquidity boost from public listings privateequityinternational.com. The secondaries market is seeing disciplined selling, with some players bringing sales to market methodically secondariesinvestor.com over the past 15 months, distinguishing them from other LPs. Sector preferences are also shifting within secondaries, as Houlihan Lokey secondariesinvestor.com observes a decrease in interest for technology assets, prompting a boost in interest for other sectors secondariesinvestor.com as the market digests tech disruption.
Venture Capital and Technology Scale-Ups
Venture activity remains focused on AI applications and sustainability, though high-profile startups are also navigating leadership transitions and fundraising. Bluesky techcrunch.com announced a $100 million Series B round following a CEO transition, dedicating the capital toward scaling its team and developing its ATProto layer. In the AI sphere, Index Ventures sifted.eu backed YC alum Parallel sifted.eu with a $20 million Series A to deploy AI agents in hospitals, contrasting with the view that the fastest AI winners will not necessarily emerge from big enterprises sifted.eu. Meanwhile, Palantir veterans launched Edra techcrunch.com with $30 million and a Sequoia stamp of approval techcrunch.com to automate workflows using operational data. On the sustainability front, EQT and World Bank-backed Candela sifted.eu secured €30 million to fuel the global rollout of its electric ferry technology, and BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts pe-insights.com invested in climate-focused vehicle FarmCarbon pe-insights.com to scale methane reduction in agriculture.
Exit Headwinds and Tax Planning
The difficulty in clearing the exit pipeline is becoming more pronounced, affecting assets acquired even outside the peak frothy period, leading some GPs to explore alternative financial maneuvers, including tax planning. Industry observers note privateequityinternational.com that even assets purchased during less exuberant market cycles are proving difficult to sell, raising questions about holding periods, which are reportedly longer than ever for portfolio companies pehub.com. In a move that could alleviate some personal tax burdens for GPs, experts are advising on gifting portions of carried interest earlier privateequityinternational.com so that future appreciation accrues outside the general partner’s estate, yielding substantial tax savings. In M&A news, Audax pehub.com is acquiring property management firm Akam pehub.com, which is being sold by Nautic Partners pehub.com, while PE-backed Tech24 pehub.com expanded its commercial foodservice equipment repair segment by snapping up Pacific Standard Service pehub.com.
Geographic Focus and Regulatory Environment
European firms are expanding geographically, while simultaneously facing domestic concerns about talent retention and regulatory sovereignty. A Singaporean buyout shop privateequityinternational.com planted its first overseas office in Hong Kong to bolster investment activities and investor relations, while HK’s Gaw Capital privateequityinternational.com is redirecting Gulf capital toward home countries amid perceived ‘retrenchment’ in the US and Europe. In the UK, concerns persist over the potential departure of founders, with a survey indicating that one in five UK founders plans to leave the country sifted.eu, a trend policymakers are trying to counter, especially regarding deeptech startups as the EU unveils its 28th regime plan sifted.eu. Furthermore, European fintechs face an increasingly complex sovereignty problem sifted.eu that warrants attention from investors like Upvest sifted.eu, which recently raised $125 million from backers including Tencent and Sapphire Ventures sifted.eu.