Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 23, 2026, 6:30 PM ET
Dealmaking & Exits: Mega-Rounds and Strategic Sales
Private equity firms are actively managing portfolios, with several significant transactions reported across defense, healthcare, and technology sectors. Arlington Capital agreed to acquire pehub.com Eptec Defence, a specialist provider of naval and defense preservation services, signaling continued interest in the defense industrial base. Concurrently, in healthcare services, Olympus Partners is seeking to divest pehub.com the retina business of Eye South, a U.S.-based management services organization, for an expected price tag of $1.1 billion. Elsewhere, Sovereign successfully exited pehub.com Knovia after growing its revenue more than fourfold under its ownership, selling the education firm to Eureka Education. Furthermore, in a large-scale potential exit, Advent & Cinven are exploring pe-insights.com the divestiture of their stake in elevator giant TK Elevator, valued around €25 billion, as Kone enters advanced talks for the takeover.
In the technology and media space, Francisco Partners is selling pehub.com music publisher Kobalt to Brookfield-backed Primary Wave, with Kobalt’s management team remaining in place under new ownership. The software sector remains active, evidenced by Gryphon-backed Rootstock acquiring pehub.com ERP software provider Ascent Solutions, which specializes in cloud ERP on the Salesforce platform. Diversifying into fintech, Diversis has scooped up pehub.com LTi, with the co-founders retaining minority stakes and operational involvement. Meanwhile, growth equity firm Lead Edge successfully secured pe-insights.com $3.5 billion for its seventh fund, indicating continued appetite for software investments despite market volatility.
Sector Deployment: Infrastructure, Energy, and Environmental Services
Infrastructure and energy assets in the Gulf region continue to attract substantial institutional capital, while Southeast Asian deployment accelerates. Private equity and infrastructure funds are reportedly targeting a Kuwait pipeline deal valued near $7 billion pe-insights.com, underscoring the region’s appeal for long-duration energy investments. In Asia, Actis finalized the acquisition pe-insights.com of a 90% stake in Singapore-based environmental management firm 800 Super, marking a $1.7 billion deployment across Southeast Asia for the firm; 800 Super provides comprehensive waste management and recycling services. On the energy transition front, Ares Management committed pe-insights.com at least €1 billion toward Plenitude as part of a broader €1.5 billion capital increase, valuing Eni’s energy transition subsidiary at €13.1 billion.
Secondaries Market & LP Liquidity
The secondary market is experiencing heightened activity as large institutional investors seek liquidity, a dynamic reflected in major portfolio sales and strategic acquisitions by asset managers. The University of California system is testing secondariesinvestor.com the market by offering a $3 billion limited partner (LP) portfolio for sale, representing one of the period's largest liquidity events sought by a major pension fund. This push for exits is mirrored by asset managers strengthening their secondary capabilities; Mercer’s recent acquisition privateequityinternational.com brought crucial secondaries expertise to Altamar CAM, specifically noted as attractive amid heightened interest in portfolio liquidity. Further supporting this trend, a Japanese secondaries shop is preparing secondariesinvestor.com to close its debut fund near its hard-cap, planning flexibility to invest in both direct secondaries and primary funding rounds.
Venture Capital & AI Focus
While overall U.S. startup funding showed a sharp slowdown in March, primarily due to the delay in closing massive AI megarounds, specialized technology funding remains strong. The slowdown in overall venture activity contrasts with targeted capital flowing into infrastructure designed to tackle computational limits. For instance, Gimlet Labs successfully raised techcrunch.com an $80 million Series A round to support its technology enabling AI inference to run simultaneously across disparate chip architectures, including NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. Separately, OpenAI is reportedly offering pe-insights.com private equity investors a guaranteed minimum return of 17.5% to entice participation in its joint venture funding pushes, seeking alternative capital streams. On the defense technology front, French-Italian VC 360 Capital raised €85 million sifted.eu for a deeptech fund backed in part by a European defense prime contractor.
Firm Activity, Personnel Moves, and Strategy
The private equity industry continues to see strategic team expansions and the launch of new investment vehicles focusing on specialized mandates. Lead Edge Capital’s $3.5 billion fund pe-insights.com underscores a continued commitment to software, while former NFL player Terrence Murphy launched pehub.com Synergy Sports Capital, announcing a debut deal shortly after its formation. In personnel changes, GTCR appointed pehub.com Donnie Phillips as managing director and chief administrative officer in its Chicago office. ECI has also bolstered its senior ranks by naming David Danon a new partner pehub.com, bringing him over from Bain Capital after nearly two decades there. Meanwhile, Australian pension fund Aware Super placed pe-insights.com Alex Satchcroft at the helm of its $11 billion private equity portfolio. Research suggests that independent sponsors are differentiating themselves by targeting higher returns—seeking 3x multiples or greater—through enhanced deal selectivity and lower entry valuations compared to traditional funds as per Headway Capital Pa privateequityinternational.com.
Add-ons and Strategic Partnerships
Portfolio companies are executing bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate growth, often supported by existing sponsors. Aquiline-backed Relation Insurance snapped up pehub.com Chinook Insurance Group, continuing its expansion in the insurance brokerage sector. In the UK, One Equity completed a take-private pehub.com acquisition of wholesale distributor Kitwave. Furthermore, evidence suggests that exit pressures are leading sponsors toward strategic partial sales rather than full divestitures, alongside longer sell-side preparation times according to West Monroe pehub.com. In a rare instance of corporate consolidation, Apollo acquired a 37% minority stake pe-insights.com in Syntegon alongside CVC to support the packaging machinery firm’s subsequent growth phase, valuing the business at €1.75 billion.