Private Equity 3d Briefing – Mar 20, 2026

103 articles summarized · Last updated: March 20, 2026 at 6:30 PM ET v624

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Last updated: March 20, 2026, 6:30 PM ET

Fundraising Momentum & Global Expansion

Major private equity players are actively scaling capital bases globally, with Blackstone securing over $12 billion pe-insights.com for its newest Asia-Pacific buyout fund, signaling continued appetite for large-scale regional transactions. Concurrently, Partners Group is initiating efforts pe-insights.com to raise at least $1 billion for its first dedicated India buyout fund, emphasizing strategic geographic expansion into high-growth markets. On the growth equity front, Coefficient Capital successfully closed more than $500 million pe-insights.com across two vehicles to fuel its consumer strategy, while EBRD committed $40 million pe-insights.com to the Templeton Türkiye Fund, which is targeting $300 million, illustrating diverse capital inflows across geographies and strategies.

Dealmaking across the board remains active, though the size of major U.S. venture rounds has recently moderated, with cybersecurity and AI startups capturing the largest financings this week according to Crunchbase data news.crunchbase.com. Sector-specific acquisitions show strength in healthcare and infrastructure, as LLR Partners-backed Viventium acquired Perks4Care pehub.com, a caregiver rewards platform, to enhance its human capital management offerings for the post-acute market. In infrastructure, KKR plans to sell CoolIT pehub.com, its data center liquid cooling company, for an expected $4.75 billion, with closing anticipated in the third quarter of 2026, while LS Power is acquiring 4.4 gigawatts pehub.com of natural gas-fired generation capacity from Constellation Energy for $5 billion. Furthermore, private equity sustained its interest in the industrial and services sectors through several add-ons, including Gryphon-backed ACA acquiring Northern Air pehub.com and Sterling snapping up IT services firm Cyber Advisors pehub.com.

The healthcare sector saw significant M&A activity as firms targeted specialized services and life sciences consolidation. 3M and Bain are jointly acquiring Madison Fire & Rescue pehub.com for $1.95 billion, intending to merge it with 3M’s Scott Safety division to construct a new fire and safety platform. In the pharmaceutical space, QHP Capital finalized an $1.1 billion continuation fund pehub.com for Azurity Pharmaceuticals, with Harbour Vest Partners leading the transaction. Simultaneously, portfolio companies executed major mergers, as B-Flexion Life Sciences-backed entities Paratek and Radius Health completed a merger pehub.com, backed by a $1.3 billion financing led by Blackstone Credit & Insurance pe-insights.com. Other firms like Palladium Equity agreed to acquire hospice provider DME Express pehub.com, and various players including InTandem and NMS Capital targeted healthcare benefits management pehub.com.

The secondaries market continues to facilitate strategic liquidity events, albeit with evolving sector preferences; Houlihan Lokey observes that technology has become a less favored sector secondariesinvestor.com as the market adjusts to tech disruption. TPG is actively rebuilding its Japan presence secondariesinvestor.com by hiring its first secondaries professional for TPG New Quest, signaling a commitment to local deal sourcing. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Investment Council is marketing a portfolio of fund stakes valued over $2 billion secondariesinvestor.com, reflecting the strategic importance of private markets, which constitute about 61% of its overall portfolio. On the GP-led side, Ronin completed a minority stake deal pehub.com in Aeri Tek Global via a continuation vehicle, involving new investors like Partners Capital, while HighVista Strategies hired Raudel Yanez pehub.com to spearhead a new GP-led secondaries strategy focused on the lower middle market.

Private credit remains a key area of activity, with major asset managers formalizing new structures and partnerships. Blackstone’s $83 billion BCRED vehicle is proceeding with new CLO issuance pe-insights.com, demonstrating continued deployment in structured credit. Furthermore, Apollo is partnering with Intercontinental Exchange pe-insights.com to develop enhanced data infrastructure specifically for private credit markets, while Apollo also hired a former Warburg Pincus executive pe-insights.com to lead its new $1 billion Singapore private credit fund. In debt financing for acquisitions, CVC Credit provided senior debt pe-insights.com to support Waterland Private Equity’s purchase of Palletways, while Ares led a €300 million continuation fund pe-insights.com for Europastry after its planned initial public offering was halted, showcasing credit vehicles stepping in to provide necessary capital continuity.

Investment strategies are heavily skewed toward Artificial Intelligence, which accounted for a record 41% of venture dollars raised last year on Carta, according to data cited by TechCrunch techcrunch.com. However, investors are beginning to see energy technology as a complementary play, as power constraints are becoming a major bottleneck for new AI data centers techcrunch.com. In the defense technology space, European defense startups are gaining visibility sifted.eu due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, with companies like ETNA looking to acquire defense tech firm Brolis Defence Group pehub.com. Separately, the focus on enterprise AI workflows is attracting capital, as Edra, co-founded by two Palantir veterans, raised $30 million techcrunch.com to automate operational data into knowledge bases, and Index invested $20 million sifted.eu in YC alum Parallel to bring AI agents to hospitals.

Firms are actively pursuing exits across various sectors, with high-value asset sales underway. KKR, Silver Lake, and General Atlantic are preparing for partial exits pe-insights.com as Reliance Jio advances toward a planned $4 billion IPO, while TDR Capital and I Squared explore options including an IPO pe-insights.com for their energy services platform, Aggreko, valued around $15 billion. In Europe, CVC and Nordic Capital are exploring exit routes for Cary Group pe-insights.com that could yield approximately €3 billion. Meanwhile, portfolio management is also seeing high-profile sales of unique assets; Pophouse Entertainment acquired music interests pehub.com belonging to Tina Turner. In terms of portfolio company performance, Star Capital saw strong investor demand for Vincorion’s €980 million IPO debut pe-insights.com.

The private equity industry saw several key personnel appointments and strategic realignments across firms. Former CVC MD Jonathan Au joined Revelation Partners secondariesinvestor.com, following his departure from CVC last year. In Asia, Apollo hired a former Warburg Pincus executive pe-insights.com specifically for its new $1 billion Singapore private credit fund. On the LP side, Australia's sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, experienced further senior leadership departures privateequityinternational.com with two joint managing directors for private equity and real assets resigning. In the UK, concerns persist regarding the retention of deeptech startups, with one survey indicating one in five founders plan to leave the country sifted.eu, prompting discussion on government support measures sifted.eu.