Private Equity 3d Briefing – Mar 25, 2026

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Last updated: March 25, 2026, 5:30 AM ET

Fundraising & Capital Deployment

The flow of dedicated capital remains active, with Kleiner Perkins raising $3.5 billion news.crunchbase.com across two new vehicles, including $1 billion for its early-stage KP22 fund and $2.5 billion for growth investments, while Lead Edge Capital closed its seventh fund at $3.5 billion pe-insights.com specifically targeting software deals. Elsewhere, emerging managers are making headway, as BKR Capital announced Fund II techcrunch.com has secured $20 million Canadian toward its $50 million target, and Japan’s RGCM Fund I prepares to close near its hard-cap secondariesinvestor.com with flexibility for direct secondaries and primary rounds. Furthermore, European venture activity shows continued depth, evidenced by French-Italian VC 360 Capital raising €85 million sifted.eu for a deeptech fund backed by a European defense prime.

Private equity deployment into enterprise software remains aggressive, with Gryphon-backed Rootstock acquiring ERP provider Ascent Solutions pehub.com, which builds cloud ERP applications on the Salesforce platform, and Diversis scooping up fintech firm LTi pehub.com, allowing LTi’s co-founders to retain minority stakes. In healthcare IT, GPI-backed Hopper OS purchased healthcare data firm Efferent pehub.com to enhance its configurable intelligent operating system across the care continuum, while TSCP made a government technology investment, backing govtech firm Karpel pehub.com that services prosecutor and public defender offices. Separately, AEA Elevate invested in tech company Trinamix pehub.com, which services mid-market and enterprise organizations.

Exit activity is showing signs of strain, with Bain & Co reporting that the number of Asia-Pacific portfolio companies held for more than five years rose 18% in 2025 privateequityinternational.com, suggesting overhang challenges persist despite some sales. Advent partially exited its position in Trustpilot pe-insights.com, selling a £46 million stake that saw shares fall following the discounted sale, while Olympus Partners is preparing to sell EyeSouth’s retina business for $1.1 billion pehub.com. In a separate transaction, Francisco Partners is selling music publisher Kobalt to Brookfield-backed Primary Wave pehub.com, with Kobalt’s management team remaining in place. Meanwhile, on the LP side, the University of California is shopping a $3 billion portfolio secondariesinvestor.com in a major secondaries sale, seeking liquidity.

Major firms are competing for substantial assets, as Apollo and Bain Capital lead a €4 billion bidding race pe-insights.com for Continental’s industrial unit, while Apollo and CVC are jointly taking a 37% minority stake in Syntegon for €1.75 billion pe-insights.com to drive its next growth phase. In infrastructure, Ares Management committed €1 billion pe-insights.com as part of a €1.5 billion capital increase in Eni’s subsidiary Plenitude, valuing the entity at €13.1 billion. Furthermore, CVC and Silver Lake are testing the market for a potential $6.7 billion initial public offering of RAC pe-insights.com, commencing investor outreach for what would be a significant listing.

Firms are targeting critical software layers, with WPCG and HGGC agreeing to invest in RIA Verdence pehub.com as Emigrant Partners sells its stake, and Main Capital investing in enterprise resource management software provider Gingco Systems pehub.com. In data management, GTCR-backed Ascent Sports Group acquired sports tech firm LiveBarn pehub.com, a new technology and media platform established in January 2026. Investment in AI infrastructure shows promise, with Gimlet Labs raising an $80 million Series A techcrunch.com for technology allowing AI inference to run simultaneously across disparate chip architectures like NVIDIA and AMD.