Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 25, 2026, 8:30 PM ET
Dealmaking Momentum & Sector Focus
Private equity firms continued to deploy capital across diverse sectors, with defense technology, beauty, and infrastructure drawing significant interest. Advent is preparing to deploy pe-insights.com up to $1 billion specifically targeting defense technology assets, while Arlington Capital agreed pehub.com to purchase Eptec Defence, a specialist in naval and defense preservation services, indicating a sustained appetite for national security capabilities. In the consumer space, Advent expanded its beauty portfolio pe-insights.com by agreeing to acquire a majority stake in premium brand Salt & Stone for $165 million, mirroring Bansk Group’s move pehub.com to purchase wellness shots provider So Good So You. Furthermore, Semcap launched a dedicated beauty and wellness arm pehub.com in partnership with industry figure Vasiliki Petrou, suggesting sector specialization remains a core strategy.
Major Exits and Continuation Funds
Exit activity saw major transactions across technology and professional services. An investor group, including Astorg, Nordic Capital, Novo Holdings, and Cinven pehub.com, finalized the $8.9 billion sale of clinical trial data firm Clario to Thermo Fisher. In the professional services arena, TowerBrook completed a continuation fund pehub.com for the consulting firm Eisner Amper, with Carlyle AlpInvest leading the transaction secondariesinvestor.com after Tower Brook reportedly spent considerable time and resources transforming the business over its four-plus year hold. Meanwhile, Francisco Partners is selling pehub.com music publisher Kobalt to a Brookfield-backed Primary Wave, with Kobalt’s leadership team set to remain in place.
Strategic Minority Stakes and Infrastructure Plays
Firms are increasingly using strategic minority sales to bring in long-term partners and crystallize value. Cinven agreed to sell a strategic minority stake in environmental science firm Envu to GIC pe-insights.com, with Cinven remaining the majority investor, aiming to drive future value creation in the environmental sector as confirmed by PE Hub pehub.com. Infrastructure and energy deals remain active, highlighted by Brookfield and La Caisse agreeing to acquire pe-insights.com renewable energy provider Boralex in a $9.7 billion take-private transaction intended to scale renewables growth. Elsewhere, PE and infrastructure funds are showing continued interest in Gulf energy assets, targeting a potential $7bn Kuwait pipeline deal as reported by PE Insights pe-insights.com.
Valuations and AI Sector Funding
The high-growth technology sector continues to command substantial valuations, particularly in artificial intelligence. Legal tech startup Harvey confirmed an $11 billion valuation techcrunch.com following a $200 million funding round co-led by GIC and Sequoia pe-insights.com, with Sequoia tripling down on its investment. Similarly, AI notetaking startup Granola achieved unicorn status sifted.eu after closing a $125 million Series C round. Despite the broader slowing in large venture rounds impacting overall US startup funding in March according to Crunchbase News news.crunchbase.com, specialized AI infrastructure remains fiercely competitive; OpenAI is reportedly offering pe-insights.com private equity firms a guaranteed minimum return of 17.5% to attract capital into its joint venture push.
Fundraising and Investor Shifts
The fundraising environment shows segmentation, with large established managers raising substantial pools while some LPs adjust regional focus. Lead Edge Capital successfully raised pe-insights.com $3.5 billion for its seventh fund, which focuses primarily on software investments. In contrast, reports suggest that LPs are slashing their Africa budgets privateequityinternational.com as risk appetites dwindle, even as sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf region consider turning inwards amid geopolitical tensions like the Iran conflict privateequityinternational.com. On the fund-of-funds side, the EIF launched a massive €15 billion fund of funds sifted.eu intended to back approximately 100 growth-stage venture capital firms across Europe.
Secondaries Market Activity and Talent Moves
Activity in the secondaries market remains high, driven by LP demand for liquidity. The University of California is shopping secondariesinvestor.com a $3 billion LP portfolio in one of the market's major recent sales processes. This demand for liquidity is prompting strategic acquisitions within the advisory space; Mercer’s acquisition of a secondaries capability privateequityinternational.com was specifically aimed at enhancing Altamar CAM’s ability to navigate heightened interest in liquidity. Concurrently, the competition for talent is evident, as Jefferies brought on senior GP-led talent secondariesinvestor.com from Lazard to strengthen its position in advisory services.
Mid-Market & Sector-Specific Acquisitions
Mid-market activity demonstrates focused deployment, often involving niche expertise or carve-outs. Clearlake is set to acquire pehub.com power and electric services grid Qualus from seller New Mountain Capital. In the specialized services space, Chimney Rock scooped up pehub.com United Electronics Company (UEC), driven by the "insatiable" demand for maintaining radar systems on aircraft and ground vehicles as noted in industry analysis pehub.com. Meanwhile, in Europe, Altor agreed to purchase pehub.com electrical installation services provider Eltera from Valedo, following the trend of Altor pursuing deals in electrical installation services pehub.com.
Health & Wellness Investments
The health and wellness vertical saw targeted investments in specialized services and technology. Olympus Partners is seeking to sell pehub.com the retina business of Eye South, a US-based eye-care management services organization, for $1.1 billion. In direct patient care technology, startup VITL secured $7.5 million techcrunch.com to enhance its e-prescribing marketplace serving the booming cash-pay clinic segment, particularly for GLP-1 prescriptions. Furthermore, GPI-backed Hopper OS acquired pehub.com healthcare data firm Efferent, integrating its configurable operating system across the care continuum.
Personnel Changes and Internal Growth
Firms are making key appointments to lead specialized mandates and investor relations functions. Aware Super appointed Alex Satchcroft pe-insights.com as the new Head of Private Equity, placing him in charge of the firm's $11 billion private equity portfolio. In investor relations strategy, O2 tapped Rob Hays pehub.com as its new IR head, having previously served as a managing director at Clean Bridge Securities. Elsewhere, ECI welcomed David Danon pehub.com as a new partner, drawing him from nearly two decades within the private equity team at Bain Capital.