Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 23, 2026, 2:30 PM ET
Dealmaking & Exits
Private equity deal flow saw significant activity across strategic exits and large infrastructure plays, though overall venture funding demonstrated cooling, particularly in mega-rounds. Advent and Cinven pe-insights.com are reportedly exploring a substantial €25 billion exit of elevator manufacturer TK Elevator pe-insights.com, with Kone entering advanced talks pe-insights.com to acquire the business. In technology, Francisco Partners agreed to sell pehub.com music publisher Kobalt pehub.com to Brookfield-backed Primary Wave pehub.com, with management remaining in place under CEO Laurent Hubert. Further exits included Olympus Partners planning to divest pehub.com the retina business of eye-care management organization EyeSouth pehub.com for $1.1 billion, while Sovereign sold Knovia pehub.com after quadrupling its revenue under its ownership through organic growth averaging over 15% annually alongside two strategic acquisitions.
In the energy sector, private funds are targeting a major $7 billion pipeline deal pe-insights.com in Kuwait, signaling continued appetite for Gulf energy assets among infrastructure and PE players. Concurrently, Actis finalized its purchase pe-insights.com of a 90% stake in Singapore-based environmental management firm 800 Super pe-insights.com for an undisclosed sum, expanding its Southeast Asia deployment to $1.7 billion. On the corporate transaction front, Apollo-managed funds acquired pe-insights.com a 37% minority stake in packaging firm Syntegon pe-insights.com valued at €1.75 billion, partnering with CVC to support its next growth phase pe-insights.com. Meanwhile, One Equity executed a take-private pehub.com of UK wholesale distributor Kitwave pehub.com, focusing on foodservice and retail supply.
Software & Technology Transactions
The software and enterprise services sector remained a key focus for buyouts and growth equity investments over the period. Lead Edge Capital successfully closed pe-insights.com its seventh fund, securing $3.5 billion dedicated to doubling down on software investments despite market volatility. In vertical software roll-ups, Gryphon-backed Rootstock acquired pehub.com ERP provider Ascent Solutions pehub.com, which builds cloud ERP applications on the Salesforce platform. Separately, Diversis secured the acquisition pehub.com of fintech firm LTi pehub.com, while AEA Elevate invested in Trinamix pehub.com, a technology firm serving mid-market and enterprise organizations. In the realm of M&A prep, a report suggested that exit difficulties are leading to longer sellside preparation times pehub.com, even as portfolio companies continue to transact, evidenced by Advent-backed Cobham Ultra selling pehub.com its Ultra Cyber division to Airbus Defence and Space.
Investment Mandates and Liquidity Focus
Institutional investors are strategically adjusting their private market exposure, with several moves centered on increasing secondary market capabilities and managing internal mandates. Aware Super appointed Alex Satchcroft pe-insights.com to lead its substantial $11 billion private equity portfolio. In a move prioritizing liquidity amidst general LP interest in secondary markets, Mercer acquired a firm privateequityinternational.com to bolster AltamarCAM’s secondaries capabilities privateequityinternational.com, as noted by Mercer’s Michael Dempsey in a discussion emphasizing liquidity needs. This focus on secondaries is mirrored globally, as a Japanese secondaries shop prepares to close secondariesinvestor.com its debut fund, RGCM Fund I, near its hard-cap, offering flexibility across direct secondaries and primary rounds. Furthermore, independent sponsors continue to target higher returns, with research indicating they generally seek 3x-plus returns privateequityinternational.com due to greater selectivity and lower valuation multiples compared to traditional funds.
Venture Capital & AI Funding Dynamics
While private equity dealmaking remains active, the broader startup funding environment showed signs of deceleration, largely driven by fewer colossal financing rounds. U.S. startup funding slowed sharply in March news.crunchbase.com, primarily attributed to the absence of several large AI 'megaround' closures that characterized earlier months. Even with the slowdown, specific technology niches attracted significant capital; for example, Gimlet Labs raised an $80 million Series A techcrunch.com to commercialize technology allowing AI inference to run simultaneously across diverse chip architectures, including NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. In the competitive AI investment race, OpenAI is offering guaranteed minimum returns pe-insights.com of 17.5% to entice private equity firms into its joint venture funding efforts. On the defense and deeptech front, French-Italian VC 360 Capital raised €85 million sifted.eu for a deeptech fund backed by a European defense prime contractor, while Air Street Capital closed a $232 million solo GP fund sifted.eu, Europe’s largest of its kind.
Personnel and Firm Strategy
Firms continued to bolster senior ranks and launch new ventures. GTCR promoted Donnie Phillips pehub.com to Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer based in its Chicago headquarters. ECI named David Danon pehub.com as a new partner, bringing him over from Bain Capital where he spent nearly two decades in private equity. Freshstream promoted two executives pehub.com, Tom Carroll and Gilles Gradassi, to partner roles, recognizing their central contribution to the firm's strategy across the UK, France, and Benelux markets. Meanwhile, the market noted the launch of Synergy Sports Capital by former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Terrence Murphy pehub.com, who unveiled the firm alongside its debut transaction after an injury cut short his NFL career two decades ago. Separately, in infrastructure investment, Ares committed at least €1 billion pe-insights.com toward Plenitude as part of a larger €1.5 billion capital increase deal with Eni, valuing the entity at €13.1 billion.