Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 24, 2026, 2:30 PM ET
Fundraising & Secondaries Activity
The private equity fundraising environment shows continued momentum, particularly in specialized areas, while institutional investors seek liquidity. Kleiner Perkins successfully closed news.crunchbase.com $3.5 billion across new funds, allocating $1 billion to KP22 for early-stage ventures and $2.5 billion for growth-stage AI investments. Separately, Lead Edge Capital secured pe-insights.com $3.5 billion for its seventh software-focused fund, demonstrating sustained investor appetite for targeted growth equity mandates. In contrast, a Japan secondaries shop targets secondariesinvestor.com its hard-cap for RGCM Fund I, which will possess flexibility to back direct secondaries or primary funding rounds, reflecting increased interest in secondary market access across Asia. Meanwhile, the University of California is shopping secondariesinvestor.com a $3 billion LP portfolio, signaling a major liquidity event for one of the system's largest institutional allocations.
Momentum in specialized investment vehicles continues, with London-based Air Street Capital closing sifted.eu $232 million for Fund III, making it one of Europe’s largest solo GP funds focused on early-stage AI companies techcrunch.com. This contrasts with broader market trends where half of GPs report privateequityinternational.com that their own artificial intelligence efforts are falling short, suggesting a divergence between expert fundraising and internal operational success. On the GP hiring front, ECI named David Danon pehub.com as a new partner, bringing nearly two decades of experience from the private equity team at Bain Capital pehub.com. Furthermore, Aware Super appointed pe-insights.com Alex Satchcroft to lead its $11 billion private equity portfolio, underscoring the importance of senior talent managing substantial institutional capital pools pe-insights.com.
Mega-Deals and Sector Acquisitions
Large-scale transactions across infrastructure and industrial sectors saw significant movement this week. Apollo Global Management agreed pe-insights.com to acquire Nippon Sheet Glass for approximately $3.7 billion via Apollo-managed funds, marking one of the largest private equity investments ever recorded in Japan. In Europe, Apollo and Bain Capital are leading pe-insights.com the €4 billion bidding contest for Continental’s Conti Tech industrial unit pe-insights.com, indicating fierce competition for high-value automotive component suppliers. Further cementing its focus on energy infrastructure, Apollo committed €1 billion pe-insights.com to Plenitude as part of a €13.1 billion valuation deal with Eni, bolstering its energy transition portfolio pe-insights.com.
Advent International expanded pe-insights.com its consumer focus by agreeing to acquire a majority stake in premium beauty brand Salt & Stone for $165 million, simultaneously marking an exit for minority investor Humble Growth pehub.com. In the defense sector, Arlington Capital is set to purchase pehub.com Eptec Defence, a specialist provider of naval and defense preservation services. Elsewhere, Altor agreed to acquire pehub.com Eltera, an electrical installation services provider, from Valedo, reflecting consolidation in specialized industrial services where Altor is also advancing pehub.com on other deals. Meanwhile, Blackstone is reportedly evaluating pe-insights.com a $200 million to $300 million investment in the Indian Premier League, signaling a potential $300 million entry into sports asset ownership.
Exits, Disposals, and Portfolio Management
Firms are actively managing portfolio assets, sometimes leading to price pressure upon exit. Advent exited a £46 million pe-insights.com stake in Trustpilot, an action that triggered a sharp decline in the shares following the discounted sale, illustrating exit timing risks in public markets. In a strategy to realize value from a major acquisition, Blackstone is targeting pe-insights.com a €100 million disposal from its recent €700 million Paris apartment acquisition, indicating immediate asset rotation post-closing. On the infrastructure side, Generate Capital sold pehub.com greenhouse operator Equinox Growers to Taylor Farms, supporting regional food supply chains. In healthcare, Olympus Partners plans to divest pehub.com the retina business of Eye South, a U.S. eye-care MSO, for $1.1 billion.
In the technology and services space, Francisco Partners will sell pehub.com music publisher Kobalt to Brookfield-backed Primary Wave, with Kobalt’s management team expected to remain in place. Additionally, GI Partners is advancing pe-insights.com sale talks for American Residential Services, a process that could value the provider at $3.5 billion. In deal-making involving existing portfolio companies, Advent-backed Cobham Ultra agreed pehub.com to sell its subsidiary Ultra Cyber to Airbus Defence and Space, a transaction also noted in reports of broader exit difficulties causing partial sales pehub.com. In another exit, Sovereign sold Knovia pehub.com after quadrupling its revenue through aggressive organic growth and two strategic acquisitions during its ownership period pehub.com.
Thematic Investing: Software, Government Tech, and Consumer Goods
Private equity continued its deep dive into vertical software and specialized services, often targeting companies with recurring revenue streams. Main Capital invested in pehub.com Gingco Systems, a developer of modular enterprise resource management software for intelligent workplace management. In the ERP space, Gryphon-backed Rootstock acquired pehub.com Ascent Solutions, a cloud ERP provider operating on the Salesforce platform. The government technology sector saw investment as TSCP backed Karpel pehub.com, a firm serving prosecutor and public defender offices nationwide. Furthermore, Blue Fire Equity’s strategy pehub.com focuses on defense and government technology, having recently made a platform investment in Jovian Concepts pehub.com.
Consumer and specialized retail saw several transactions, including Main Post investing in pehub.com pretzel brand Stellar Snacks, which boasts distribution across major national retailers like Costco and Target. In education, Princeton Equity Group backed pehub.com Kid Strong, a children’s education program provider that currently supports over 85,000 members across 184 centers in the U.S. and Canada. On the environmental services front, Goldner Hawn acquired pehub.com Lone Star Environmental Companies, which operates across the Houston and San Antonio markets. In Southeast Asia, Actis completed the acquisition pehub.com of a 90% stake in Singapore-based environmental management business 800 Super for a total deployment reaching $1.7 billion in the region news.crunchbase.com.
Dealmaking and Firm Strategy
Firms are increasingly relying on sector specialization to gain an edge in sourcing deals. New Mountain Capital’s Atlas unit secondariesinvestor.com seeks to lead GP-led buyout deals by leveraging dedicated sector teams, according to co-head Neal Costello. This selectivity is also evident in the mid-market space where independent sponsors often seek privateequityinternational.com higher returns (3x-plus due to greater selectivity and a preference for lower valuation entry points compared to traditional mega-funds. In the RIA space, WPCG and HGGC are investing pehub.com in Verdence, which involves the sale of Emigrant Partners’ existing stake. Meanwhile, CVC Capital Partners and Silver Lake began pe-insights.com investor outreach for a potential $6.7 billion initial public offering of RAC.
In the realm of specialized minority investments, BRK Capital announced techcrunch.com that its Fund II had closed $20 million toward its $50 million target, specifically aimed at investing in Black founders. In the world of recruitment, Southfield invested in pehub.com Metric Search, a firm focused on medtech life sciences, engineering, and data center staffing. On personnel moves, GTCR appointed Donnie Phillips pehub.com as managing director and chief administrative officer based in its Chicago headquarters. Finally, the former NFL wide receiver Terrence Murphy launched pehub.com Synergy Sports Capital earlier this month, unveiling the firm’s debut deal shortly thereafter pehub.com.