Private Equity 3d Briefing – Mar 25, 2026

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Last updated: March 25, 2026, 8:30 AM ET

Major Exits and Portfolio Activity

A significant cluster of deal activity involved high-value exits across health and industrial sectors. An investor group comprising Astorg, Nordic Capital, Novo Holdings, and Cinven pehub.com finalized the sale of clinical trial data management firm Clario to Thermo Fisher for a substantial $8.9 billion pehub.com. In a smaller transaction, Industrial Opportunity Partners exited Royston pehub.com, a retail fixtures provider acquired in 2018, selling the asset to LSI for $325 million. Further illustrating the varied exit environment, Olympus Partners is targeting an $1.1 billion sale pehub.com of the retina business belonging to its portfolio company, Eye South, a U.S.-based eye-care MSO. Simultaneously, Advent exited a partial stake in Trustpilot pe-insights.com worth £46 million, though this sale contributed to a share price drop following the discounted offering pe-insights.com.

Private equity firms continued to deploy capital across diverse verticals, with technology, aerospace, and industrial services seeing considerable M&A. TowerBrook Capital Partners successfully acquired ID Unlimited pehub.com, a French sports apparel personalization platform, tapping into the growing market for sports jersey customization pehub.com. In software services, Gryphon-backed Rootstock acquired Ascent Solutions pehub.com, a provider of cloud ERP applications on the Salesforce platform, bolstering its enterprise offerings. The defense and government technology space saw activity as Arlington Capital moved to purchase Eptec Defence pehub.com, a specialist in naval preservation services, while Blue Fire Equity recently made its own platform investment in defense tech via the acquisition of Jovian Concepts pehub.com.

Interest remains high in energy and critical infrastructure assets, particularly around the Gulf region. Private equity and infrastructure funds are reportedly targeting a $7 billion Kuwait pipeline deal pe-insights.com as Gulf energy transactions gain momentum. In Southeast Asia, Actis completed the acquisition of 90% of 800 Super pe-insights.com, a Singapore-based environmental management firm, pushing its regional deployment to $1.7 billion. Separately, Hull Street will acquire two power plants pehub.com from Rockland, specifically the natural gas facility in Illinois and the dual-fuel station in Ohio, signaling ongoing investment in energy generation assets.

The private credit space is showing signs of strain, prompting defensive measures from large asset managers. Ares Management has imposed withdrawal caps pe-insights.com on its $10.7 billion Strategic Income Fund in response to a surge in redemption requests across the private credit sector. In contrast, growth equity managers are still raising substantial capital; Lead Edge Capital successfully secured $3.5 billion for its seventh fund pe-insights.com, which focuses exclusively on software deals. Meanwhile, on the LP side, Aware Super appointed Alex Satchcroft to lead its $11 billion private equity portfolio pe-insights.com, signaling a shift in management for the large Australian pension fund.

The technology sector, particularly AI, continues to attract massive capital injections, though some areas are experiencing a slowdown. Kleiner Perkins closed fundraising for new AI-focused funds news.crunchbase.com, totaling $3.5 billion, split between a $1 billion early-stage vehicle and a $2.5 billion growth vehicle. Despite this, overall U.S. startup funding slowed sharply in March, largely attributed to a decrease in mega-rounds for AI companies news.crunchbase.com. In a specific AI play, TPG and Allianz led a $350 million strategic investment pe-insights.com into Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) to scale its AI-driven mobility platform, with State Farm also participating pehub.com. Separately, crypto compliance startup Eunice raised $8 million sifted.eu, backed by Speedinvest and Moonfire Ventures, while Oxford spinout Rivr raised $40 million seed funding sifted.eu to address long-term memory issues in robotics.

Heightened interest in liquidity solutions is driving activity in the secondaries market, which is also being impacted by disruptive forces like AI advancements privateequityinternational.com. The University of California is seeking liquidity secondariesinvestor.com by shopping a $3 billion LP portfolio in a major sale process. On the manager side, Mercer’s acquisition of a specialized firm privateequityinternational.com bolstered Altamar CAM’s secondaries capabilities to meet this demand for liquidity. Furthermore, the Japanese secondaries market is seeing debut activity, with RGCM Fund I preparing to close near its hard-cap secondariesinvestor.com, offering flexibility to invest in both direct secondaries and primary rounds.

European dealmaking saw action across gaming, specialized services, and emerging tech niches. KKCG-backed Allwyn completed its listing on the Athens Stock Exchange pehub.com following a merger with Opap, establishing it as the second-largest listed lottery and gaming operator globally. In the specialized services realm, One Equity acquired UK wholesale distributor Kitwave pehub.com in a take-private transaction. Meanwhile, the ongoing concern over space sovereignty is fueling investment in the sector, evidenced by Swiss spacetech firm Pave Space raising a $40 million seed round sifted.eu.

Firms are restructuring portfolios and making key hires to align with strategic priorities. CVC and Silver Lake are testing the waters for a $6.7 billion IPO of RAC pe-insights.com as initial investor outreach commences. In the U.S., GTCR appointed Donnie Phillips as managing director and chief administrative officer pehub.com based in its Chicago headquarters. The ongoing difficulties in achieving clean exits are leading some firms toward partial sales or longer sell-side preparation periods pehub.com. For instance, Advent’s portfolio company Cobham Ultra agreed to divest Ultra Cyber to Airbus Defence and Space pehub.com, while Advent simultaneously executed a partial exit from Trustpilot pe-insights.com.