Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 24, 2026, 12:30 PM ET
Mega-Deals and Major Exits
Private equity activity saw several large transactions surface, highlighted by Apollo committing $3.7 billion pe-insights.com to acquire Nippon Sheet Glass, marking one of the largest Japanese private equity investments by an Apollo-managed fund. In Europe, Apollo and Bain Capital pe-insights.com are leading the €4 billion bidding contest for Continental’s Conti Tech industrial unit, demonstrating continued appetite for large-scale industrial carve-outs. Separately, Blackstone is targeting a €100 million disposal pe-insights.com from its recent €700 million Paris apartment acquisition as part of its value-creation strategy across European real estate assets.
Consumer & Healthcare Transactions
Advent International is expanding pe-insights.com its premium beauty exposure, agreeing to purchase a majority stake in body care brand Salt & Stone for $165 million, which involves an exit for Humble Growth, an investor since 2024 Advent also sold a stake pe-insights.com in the online review platform Trustpilot valued at £46 million, an exit that triggered a sharp decline in the company's share price following the discounted sale. In healthcare, Olympus Partners plans to divest pehub.com the retina business of Eye South, a U.S.-based management services organization, in a transaction valued at $1.1 billion, while Sovereign sold Knovia pehub.com after the education provider quadrupled its revenue under its ownership through organic growth exceeding 15% annually and two strategic acquisitions.
Software, Tech, and Specialized Investments
Firms continue to target niche software and technology providers, with Diversis scooping up fintech LTi pehub.com while allowing co-founders to retain minority stakes and operational involvement. In the enterprise resource planning space, Main Capital invested pehub.com in Gingco Systems, a developer of modular software for intelligent workplace management, and Gryphon-backed Rootstock acquired pehub.com Ascent Solutions, a provider of cloud ERP applications built on the Salesforce platform. Furthermore, GTCR-backed Ascent Sports Group pehub.com acquired sports technology firm Live Barn, while AEA Elevate invested pehub.com in Trinamix, a firm serving enterprise and mid-market organizations with technology solutions.
Secondaries Market Dynamics & Strategy
The secondaries market is experiencing disruption, partly driven by concerns over artificial intelligence privateequityinternational.com impacting processes, alongside sustained demand for liquidity. The University of California is seeking liquidity secondariesinvestor.com by shopping a $3 billion LP portfolio, representing the latest major institution tapping the market for capital return. Meanwhile, New Mountain Atlas secondariesinvestor.com is leveraging its dedicated sector teams to lead and co-lead GP-led buyout deals, aiming to get ahead of traditional deal sourcing processes. Separately, a Japan secondaries shop is nearing the hard-cap secondariesinvestor.com for its debut fund, which will focus on direct secondaries and primary funding rounds.
Infrastructure, Energy, and Environmental Focus
Infrastructure and energy saw significant interest, with private equity and infrastructure funds targeting a $7 billion Kuwait pipeline deal pe-insights.com as Gulf energy transactions proceed. In the environmental sector, Actis completed the acquisition pe-insights.com of a 90% stake in Singapore-based 800 Super, an environmental management firm specializing in waste treatment and recycling, bringing Actis’s Southeast Asia deployment to $1.7 billion. Mid-market players are also active, as Goldner Hawn picked up pehub.com Lone Star Environmental Companies, which operates across the greater Houston and San Antonio markets. Additionally, Hull Street is acquiring pehub.com two power plants—a natural gas facility in Illinois and a dual-fuel plant in Ohio—from Rockland.
Growth Equity and Sector Specialist Activity
Growth equity funds are raising capital, with Lead Edge Capital closing its seventh fund pe-insights.com at $3.5 billion, focusing on software investments. In the education sector, Princeton Equity Group backed pehub.com children’s program provider Kid Strong, which currently supports over 85,000 members across 184 franchised centers in the U.S. and Canada. Public sector technology remains a focus, as TSCP invested in govtech firm Karpel pehub.com, a provider to public defender and prosecutor offices nationwide. In consumer goods, Main Post invested pehub.com in pretzel brand Stellar Snacks, which maintains broad retail distribution across major U.S. grocers like Costco and Target.
Exits, IPO Tests, and Firm Management
CVC Capital Partners and Silver Lake pe-insights.com have initiated investor outreach for a potential initial public offering of RAC, a transaction that could value the company at $6.7 billion, testing public market sentiment for large private equity holdings. In terms of firm management, Aware Super appointed Alex Satchcroft pe-insights.com to lead its $11 billion private equity portfolio, while ECI appointed David Danon pehub.com as a new partner, following his nearly two decades with Bain Capital’s private equity team. Talent acquisition is also key, as GTCR tapped Donnie Phillips pehub.com to serve as managing director and chief administrative officer based in Chicago.
AI and Deeptech Funding Trends
While overall U.S. startup funding slowed sharply in March due to fewer massive rounds, specialized AI investment continues to attract significant private capital, exemplified by OpenAI offering a guaranteed 17.5% minimum return pe-insights.com to entice private equity firms into joint ventures. European deeptech funding also saw movement, with French-Italian VC 360 Capital raising €85 million sifted.eu for a deeptech fund backed by a European defense prime contractor. In the competitive AI infrastructure space, Gimlet Labs raised an $80 million Series A techcrunch.com for technology designed to run AI inference simultaneously across NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, and other chips.
Secondaries and LP Liquidity
Heightened interest in liquidity is driving acquisitions in the secondaries advisory space; Mercer’s acquisition of AltamarCAM privateequityinternational.com was specifically aimed at bolstering its secondaries capabilities to meet heightened LP demand. Meanwhile, New Mountain Atlas’s secondaries unit secondariesinvestor.com is actively seeking to lead buyout deals, moving beyond traditional secondaries hiring. Despite exit difficulties causing longer sell-side preparation, Bain & Co reports that the number of APAC portfolio companies held over five years rose 18% in 2025 privateequityinternational.com, indicating persistent overhang in that region.
Other Notable Sector Deals
Firms are also executing deals in specialized areas such as environmental services and defense contracting. Arlington Capital agreed to acquire pehub.com Eptec Defence, a specialist in naval and defense preservation services, while Altor inked an agreement pehub.com to purchase electrical installation provider Eltera from Valedo, following CMA reforms in the UK pet care sector that private equity must now consider pehub.com. Separately, Turnspire Capital Partners is reportedly collecting first-round bids pehub.com for its municipal water utility service provider, USG Water Solutions, in mid-April.