Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 24, 2026, 7:30 AM ET
European Dealmaking & Mega-Auctions
The European industrial sector remains a key target for buyout firms, with Apollo Global Management pe-insights.com and Bain Capital pe-insights.com reportedly leading a €4 billion bidding race for Continental’s pe-insights.com industrial unit, Conti Tech. In a separate high-value exit process, Advent pe-insights.com and Cinven pe-insights.com are exploring a potential €25 billion divestment of TK Elevator pe-insights.com, as Kone pe-insights.com enters advanced talks to acquire the private equity-owned business. Elsewhere in the region, Apollo pe-insights.com, alongside CVC pe-insights.com, agreed to take a 37% minority stake in German engineering firm Syntegon pe-insights.com valued at €1.75 billion to support its next growth phase, while One Equity pehub.com executed a take-private transaction for UK wholesale distributor Kitwave pehub.com.
Sector-Specific Acquisitions & Divestitures
Private equity firms continued to reshape niche industries, with Altor pehub.com securing an agreement to acquire Eltera pehub.com, an electrical installation services provider, from Valedo pehub.com. Simultaneously, in the defense and aerospace space, Arlington Capital pehub.com plans to acquire Eptec Defence pehub.com, a specialist in naval and defense preservation services, while Advent’s pehub.com portfolio company, Cobham Ultra pehub.com, entered a definitive agreement to sell its cyber division, Ultra Cyber, to Airbus Defence and Space pehub.com. In healthcare, Olympus Partners pehub.com is preparing to divest the retina business of US eye-care MSO EyeSouth pehub.com for an expected $1.1 billion, and Francisco Partners pehub.com is exiting its music publishing asset, Kobalt pehub.com, selling it to a Brookfield-backed pehub.com entity, Primary Wave.
Infrastructure & Energy Investment
Infrastructure funds are showing sustained interest in Gulf energy assets, with private equity players targeting a significant $7 billion Kuwait pipeline deal currently being shopped in the region PE Insights pe-insights.com. In Southeast Asia, Actis pe-insights.com finalized the acquisition of a 90% stake in Singapore-based environmental management firm 800 Super pe-insights.com, a move that brings its total deployment in S.E. Asia to $1.7 billion, focused on critical services like waste management and recycling. Furthermore, Ares Management pe-insights.com committed at least €1 billion toward Eni’s pe-insights.com subsidiary Plenitude pe-insights.com as part of a larger capital increase that values the energy transition business at €13.1 billion.
Technology & Fintech Transactions
The technology sector saw several targeted buyouts, including Diversis pehub.com acquiring fintech firm LTi pehub.com, where the co-founders will retain minority stakes and remain involved. In the enterprise software space, Gryphon-backed pehub.com expanded its footprint on the Salesforce platform by picking up ERP provider Ascent Solutions pehub.com. In a move signaling continued growth equity interest, Lead Edge Capital pe-insights.com successfully closed its seventh fund, raising $3.5 billion specifically targeting software deals. Conversely, Sovereign pehub.com divested its education technology company Knovia pehub.com, which had seen its revenue more than quadruple under Sovereign’s ownership through a combination of organic growth exceeding 15% annually and two strategic acquisitions.
Secondaries Market Dynamics & LP Liquidity
Activity in the secondaries market is currently being complicated by concerns over Artificial Intelligence exposure, affecting standard General Partner processes, according to reports privateequityinternational.com. Despite these hurdles, the demand for liquidity remains high, exemplified by the University of California secondariesinvestor.com shopping a substantial $3 billion LP portfolio to generate cash. This trend toward seeking liquidity is also noted in Asia-Pacific, where Bain & Co data shows that the number of portfolio companies held for over five years increased by 18% in 2025, indicating potential overhang issues privateequityinternational.com. In response to market interest, a Japan-based secondaries shop secondariesinvestor.com is nearing the hard-cap for its debut fund, RGCM Fund I, which will have flexibility across direct secondaries and primary funding rounds, while Mercer’s secondariesinvestor.com acquisition of AltamarCAM privateequityinternational.com was explicitly aimed at bolstering secondaries capabilities amid heightened liquidity interest.
Venture Capital, AI Funding, and Talent Gaps
Venture capital fundraising shows divergence, with London’s Air Street Capital techcrunch.com closing Fund III at $232 million, positioning itself as one of Europe’s largest solo VCs focused on early-stage AI companies in both Europe and North America techcrunch.com. Meanwhile, OpenAI pe-insights.com is attempting to attract private equity capital for its AI joint venture initiatives by offering investors a guaranteed minimum return of.5% pe-insights.com. However, broader US startup funding slowed sharply in March, driven almost entirely by fewer mega-rounds closing in the AI sector news.crunchbase.com. A key concern across Europe remains the talent deficit; data suggests that half of General Partners surveyed find their own AI efforts falling short, correlating with reports indicating that failure to fill specialized roles results in missed opportunities privateequityinternational.com. Furthermore, UK fintech Revolut sifted.eu posted record profits while preparing for expansion, contrasting with the broader funding slowdown.
Personnel Moves & New Entrants
The industry saw several key personnel appointments, including GTCR pehub.com tapping Donnie Phillips pehub.com as managing director and chief administrative officer based in Chicago, and ECI pehub.com naming David Danon pehub.com as a new partner following nearly two decades at Bain Capital pehub.com. On the LP side, Aware Super pe-insights.com appointed Alex Satchcroft pe-insights.com to lead its $11 billion private equity portfolio. In deal origination, former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Terrence Murphy pehub.com launched his new firm, Synergy Sports Capital pehub.com, and immediately announced its debut deal, joining a growing field of focused debut funds, such as 5(c) Capital techcrunch.com, which raised capital from rival prediction market CEOs to back startups in that burgeoning category.