Private Equity 3d Briefing

Last updated: March 20, 2026, 9:30 PM ET

Fundraising & Capital Deployment

Major private equity players are continuing to amass significant capital, though early-stage venture deal sizes appear to be contracting, with Blackstone raising over $12 billion pe-insights.com for its latest Asia-Pacific buyout fund while Coefficient Capital secured more than $500 million pe-insights.com across two vehicles to fuel its consumer growth focus. Separately, Partners Group is planning a $1 billion India-focused buyout fund pe-insights.com as it deepens its geographic commitment in the region, while the EBRD committed $40 million pe-insights.com toward the Templeton Türkiye private equity fund, which is targeting a total raise of $300 million.

In specialized strategies, QHP Capital finalized an $1.1 billion continuation fund pehub.com for Azurity Pharmaceuticals, led by Harbour Vest Partners, while MCH Private Equity closed a €300 million single-asset continuation vehicle pe-insights.com for premium frozen baked goods company Europastry, following an earlier report that Ares Management had also led a €300 million continuation fund for the same asset pe-insights.com. The secondaries market remains active, evidenced by ADIC shopping a portfolio of fund stakes valued at over $2 billion secondariesinvestor.com, which represents approximately 61% of its total private markets exposure.

Dealmaking & Sector Activity

Deal activity spans industrial platforms, healthcare services, and specialized technology, with major transactions including 3M and Bain acquiring Madison Fire & Rescue for $1.95 billion pehub.com to create a new fire and safety platform through a merger with 3M’s Scott Safety division. In the specialized services sector, LLR Partners-backed Viventium acquired Perks4Care pehub.com, a caregiver rewards platform, bolstering its human capital management offering for the post-acute market, while Gryphon-backed ACA acquired Northern Air pehub.com, an HVAC solutions provider. Furthermore, Palladium Equity Partners agreed to purchase DME Express pehub.com, a hospice medical equipment provider from Way Point Capital Partners, joining other firms like InTandem and NMS Capital targeting healthcare benefits management pehub.com.

Exits and asset sales are also underway, with KKR preparing to divest its data center liquid cooling firm CoolIT for $4.75 billion pehub.com, with the transaction expected to finalize in the third quarter of 2026. Elsewhere, CVC and Nordic Capital are exploring exit options for Cary Group pe-insights.com that could value the company at approximately €3 billion, while Star Capital-backed Vincorion debuted on the public markets with a €980 million IPO pe-insights.com, attracting strong investor demand.

Technology, AI, and Energy Focus

The continued dominance of Artificial Intelligence in venture funding is evident, as AI startups captured 41% of the $128 billion in venture dollars techcrunch.com raised by Carta-tracked companies last year, although some investors are pivoting toward infrastructure needs, suggesting that the best AI investment may be in energy technology techcrunch.com due to growing power bottlenecks for data centers. In portfolio moves, Blackstone-backed healthcare advisor Chartis acquired Leap AI pehub.com, while Warburg Pincus invested in fintech company TheGuarantors pehub.com, with that deal slated for closing by the end of Q2 2026. Investment is also flowing into climate and infrastructure; LS Power is set to acquire 4.4 gigawatts of natural gas generation capacity pehub.com from Constellation Energy for $5 billion, and EQT and World Bank backed Candela with a €30 million raise sifted.eu to support the "flying ferry" startup’s global rollout.

Geographic Expansion & Secondaries Market Dynamics

Global private equity firms are actively establishing or expanding their regional footprints, with TPG looking to re-establish a stronger Japanese presence secondariesinvestor.com by hiring its first Japan-based secondaries professional for TPG New Quest. In Asia, a Singaporean buyout firm planted its first overseas office in Hong Kong privateequityinternational.com to support investment activities and investor relations. Meanwhile, the secondaries market is seeing sophisticated capital management, as HighVista Strategies appointed a new head to launch its GP-led secondaries investing strategy pehub.com focused on the lower middle market. On the divestment side, IK Partners acquired a majority stake in Dutch intermediary Domek Group pehub.com, a firm that has expanded into Belgium and Germany, following reports that Permira’s AltamarCAM exit generated attractive returns pehub.com.

Credit & Credit Secondaries

The private credit space continues to draw major commitments, with Blackstone’s $83 billion BCRED vehicle with a new CLO issuance pe-insights.com. Further debt financing activity includes CVC Credit providing senior debt to support Waterland Private Equity’s acquisition of Palletways pe-insights.com, and Apollo partnering with Intercontinental Exchange to build new private credit data infrastructure pe-insights.com. In secondaries, buyers are prioritizing acquiring valuable products at a discount and eliminating the J-curve secondariesinvestor.com, while Aresled a €300 million continuation fund** for Europastry pe-insights.com after its planned IPO was halted.*

Sector Spotlight: Defense & Healthcare

Defense technology startups are drawing increased investor attention, particularly given ongoing geopolitical tensions, as demonstrated by the 520% first-day trading surge for AI drone company Swarmer news.crunchbase.com, which may clear a path for other defense IPOs. This sector focus is reflected in deals such as ETNA acquiring Brolis Defence Group pehub.com, a developer of electro-optical systems for NATO defense ministries. In healthcare, Bain Capital is backing climate tech firm Duravent Group pehub.com, while on the services side, Blackstone-backed Chartis pehub.com is bolstering its advisory capabilities, and ICG is backing Italian railway maintenance provider Comcreta pehub.com to support expansion amid infrastructure investment acceleration.