Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 20, 2026, 9:30 AM ET
Dealmaking Activity & Sector Focus
Private equity deal flow remains active across specialized sectors, with significant M&A targeting healthcare services and industrial maintenance. Gryphon-backed ACA acquired pehub.com HVAC systems manufacturer Northern Air, while Palladium Equity moved to purchase pehub.com hospice medical equipment provider DME Express from Way Point Capital Partners. The healthcare vertical saw further consolidation as Blackstone-backed Chartis scooped up pehub.com health tech firm Leap AI, and B-Flexion Life Sciences-backed Paratek and Radius Health completed pehub.com a merger supported by a $1.3 billion financing led by Blackstone Credit & Insurance pe-insights.com. In the industrial services space, PE-backed Tech24 snapped up pehub.com commercial foodservice equipment repair firm Pacific Standard Service, and Truelink-backed SouthernCarlson picked up pehub.com specialty distributor Greenwald Supply Direct.
Firms continue to build out platforms in specialized services, evident in the expansion of the environmental and infrastructure sectors. Fort Point invested in pehub.com environmental services firm Boston Green to recapitalize the company, while its portfolio company, Visu Sewer, acquired sewer inspection firm pehub.com United Survey. Meanwhile, platform expansion in infrastructure was seen with KKR launching a $310 million partnership pe-insights.com to expand the Allfleet vehicle platform alongside PMI Electro. Specific consolidation plays also occurred in specialty distribution, where Stephens Group-backed Astro Pak acquired pehub.com Clean Sciences, a provider of high-purity cleaning services.
European activity showed a strong appetite for defense technology and specialized manufacturing despite geopolitical tensions. ETNA agreed to acquire pehub.com Brolis Defence Group, which manufactures electro-optical systems for NATO defense ministries, following Oakley Capital’s win pehub.com for the Mid-Cap Europe Deal of the Year award. Defense investments are already demonstrating returns privateequityinternational.com, even as Iran tensions place European sifted.eu air defense startups in the spotlight. Separately, IK Partners acquired pehub.com a majority stake in Domek Group, which operates in the Netherlands and has recently expanded into Belgium and Germany, an exit for which Permira’s AltamarCAM exit pehub.com reportedly delivered attractive returns.
Credit Markets & Secondaries Activity
The private credit market is seeing institutional backing, with major players utilizing credit vehicles to support portfolio company movements. CVC Credit provided pe-insights.com senior debt financing to support Waterland Private Equity’s acquisition of Palletways, while Ares Management led pe-insights.com a €300 million continuation fund for Europastry following a halt in its planned IPO. This use of continuation vehicles (CVs) is becoming a core strategy, with MCH closing a CV for Europastry pehub.com led by Ares, while Ares also leads a vehicle secondariesinvestor.com for nursery operator Kids Planet exceeding £400 million, and MCH raising €300 million for a frozen baked goods asset CV as noted by PE Hub pehub.com. However, the general pipeline for exits is tightening, as assets bought during less privateequityinternational.com frothy periods are proving difficult to sell, leading to longer hold periods for portfolio companies than ever before as reported by PE Hub pehub.com.
The secondaries market is evolving, with GPs increasingly using their own assets as sellers in GP-led transactions. Ronin Equity completed pehub.com a GP-led secondary deal for Aeri Tek, with new investors including Partners Capital backing the continuation vehicle as confirmed by PE Hub pehub.com. Firms are also seeking innovation in secondary structures; Bindley Capital-backed Guardian priced pehub.com a "synthetic secondary" offering for its long-term care pharmacy services business. Meanwhile, HighVista Strategies appointed pehub.com Raudel Yanez to launch its GP-led secondaries investing strategy focused on the lower middle market. Despite some caution, credit secondaries buyers are prioritizing secondariesinvestor.com acquiring valuable products at a discount while eliminating the J-curve effect, though a furore over credit could complicate retail ambitions privateequityinternational.com.
Geographic Expansion & Fund Strategy Shifts
Global private equity players are solidifying regional presences, particularly in Asia, while some institutional investors are re-evaluating existing allocations. Partners Group is planning pe-insights.com to raise at least $1 billion for its inaugural India-focused buyout fund, aiming to build a deeper presence in the region. Similarly, TPG is seeking to re-establish privateequityinternational.com its Japan private equity presence through a senior hire, which is part of a wider multi-asset expansion. In Singapore, a local buyout shop planted its first overseas privateequityinternational.com flag in Hong Kong to support investment and investor relations. Conversely, some large allocators are pulling back; Nevada PERS is moving privateequityinternational.com its Clearlake exposure due to perceived conflicts of interest arising from Clearlake’s acquisition of Pathway Capital Management, while the Future Fund lost privateequityinternational.com two joint managing directors for private equity and real assets amid leadership resignations.
Capital Markets & Tech Investment Themes
The IPO market is showing mixed signals, with defense tech seeing strong debuts while broader tech IPOs remain sluggish. Star Capital-backed Vincorion saw pe-insights.com strong demand as shares in the German defense firm jumped around 13% following its €980 million IPO debut. This momentum follows reports that defense startups are performing well, with Swarmer’s soaring debut paving the way for others news.crunchbase.com. In contrast, the broader IPO pipeline faces a clog, and PwC noted that tech moves secondariesinvestor.com down the list of favored CV sectors as the secondaries market adjusts to technological disruption. In venture capital, there is growing interest in AI infrastructure, particularly where energy needs are concerned, as power has become a major bottleneck for AI deployment techcrunch.com, creating an opening for energy tech investors. Furthermore, the importance of tangible outputs is stressed, as authors suggest the best way to see measurable business improvements in AI pilots news.crunchbase.com involves measuring business outputs directly.
Portfolio Company Exits & Growth Financing
Firms are actively exploring large-scale exits, with major European assets potentially coming to market. CVC and Nordic Capital are exploring pe-insights.com exit options for Cary Group that could value the company at €3 billion, while Advent and Cinven are examining pe-insights.com a potential €25 billion exit of TK Elevator amid takeover talks with Kone. In the U.S., LS Power plans to acquire pehub.com approximately 4.4 gigawatts of natural gas–fired generation capacity from Constellation Energy for $5 billion. Growth equity financing remains strong in climate and health tech; EQT and World Bank are backing sifted.eu 'flying ferry' startup Candela with €30 million for its global rollout, and BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts invested pe-insights.com in Farm Carbon to scale methane reduction in agriculture. Meanwhile, QHP Capital completed pehub.com a $1.1 billion continuation fund for Azurity Pharmaceuticals, led by Harbour Vest Partners.