Private Equity 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 27, 2026, 5:30 PM ET
Sector Focus: Healthcare & Defense Acquisitions
Private equity dealmaking showed continued specialization across defensive sectors, with Advent preparing to deploy up to $1 billion into defense technology, including a planned investment in Shield AI that will help fund its acquisition of Sagewind Capital portfolio company Aechelon Technology Inc Advent moves to deploy $1bn into defence technology pe-insights.com. Simultaneously, firms are targeting specific niches within healthcare; the potential $4.6 billion carve-out of Carrefour Belgium is being explored by Aurelius Aurelius targets $4.6bn Carrefour Belgium carve-out pe-insights.com, while the pathology sector attracts interest from firms including Astorg, Cinven, and Nordic Capital PE targets pathology assets: 5 deals pehub.com. In consumer health, the GLP-1 trend is shaping deal flow, exemplified by LDC completing its exit from occupational health business PAM Healthcare to Optima Healthcare GLP-1, preventative products shape consumer health dealmaking, says Houlihan Lokey pehub.com, and Bansk Group agreeing to acquire wellness shots provider So Good So You Bansk Group to acquire wellness shots provider So Good So You pehub.com.
Technology M&A and Funding Trends
The technology sector remains a major focus, both for large corporate takeovers and venture funding, with OpenAI disclosing a recent $10 billion capital raise The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: A Varied Week For Big Deals, Led By AI And Defense news.crunchbase.com. OpenAI itself has been active on the M&A front, completing 17 acquisitions over the past three years to bolster its offerings Data: OpenAI Has Already Done Nearly As Many M&A Deals In 2026 As It Did All of Last Year news.crunchbase.com. Elsewhere in tech, SAP is set to acquire New View Capital-backed Reltio, expecting the transaction to close in the second or third quarter of 2026 SAP to acquire NewView Capital-backed Reltio pehub.com, while Clearlake Capital is acquiring power grid services firm Qualus from New Mountain Capital Clearlake to acquire power and electric services grid Qualus pehub.com. Meanwhile, seed funding remains intensely competitive, though data shows that only the upper bands of deals, specifically those at $10 million and above, saw growth in 2025 Seed Funding Hasn’t Stalled, But It’s Skewing Larger And Is More Competitive Than Ever, Crunchbase Data Shows news.crunchbase.com.
Sector Shifts and Emerging Themes
The industry is observing a fundamental shift away from debt-fueled structuring toward genuine operational improvement, with one analyst suggesting that "12 is the new 5" in terms of holding periods “12 is the new 5”: private equity’s shift from structure to substance pe-insights.com. This focus on substance extends to specific growth areas; women’s health is identified as ripe for investment, with the pending $18.3 billion take-private of Hologic by Blackstone and TPG serving as a leading indicator Women’s health ripe for private equity investments, finds Kearney’s Paula Bellostas Muguerza pehub.com. In infrastructure, Brookfield and La Caisse agreed to acquire Boralex in a $9.7 billion take-private deal aimed at scaling renewable energy growth Brookfield and La Caisse acquire Boralex in $9.7bn take-private to scale renewables growth pe-insights.com. In the Middle East, Blackstone committed $250 million to Advanced Digital Gaming Technology as part of a broader $1 billion bet in the region, despite ongoing tensions Blackstone commits $250m to UAE payments platform in $1bn bet amid regional tensions pe-insights.com.
Secondaries Market Expansion & Personnel Moves
Investment banks are actively building out specialized advisory teams to capture complex secondary transactions, as evidenced by Evercore hiring four individuals to bolster its Europe-based credit secondaries team, including two hires from PJT Evercore builds out Europe-based credit secondaries team secondariesinvestor.com. This movement reflects a broader trend of buyout firms entering the secondaries space, with healthcare specialist Linden reportedly considering its own secondaries strategy Healthcare-focused PE firm Linden mulls secondaries strategy secondariesinvestor.com. Personnel churn continues, with Jefferies recruiting senior GP-led talent from Lazard to enhance its competitive positioning in the advisory community Jefferies brings on senior GP-led talent from Lazard secondariesinvestor.com. On the fund side, Tower Brook successfully completed a continuation fund for consulting firm Eisner Amper, with Carlyle Alp Invest leading the transaction TowerBrook completes continuation fund for business consulting firm EisnerAmper pehub.com.
Exits, Add-ons, and Portfolio Management
Portfolio companies are seeing a flurry of exits and strategic add-on acquisitions across various industries. Advent agreed to sell hair care brand Olaplex to Henkel for $1.4 billion, marking a full exit for the PE firm once the deal closes Advent to sell hair care brand Olaplex to Henkel for $1.4bn pehub.com. In the services sector, Audax and Greenbriar co-investors in AGI since 2021, sold the airport services firm to Lone Star Audax and Greenbriar sells airport services firm AGI to Lone Star pehub.com, while HIG Capital is selling its Brazilian internet service provider to Claro for approximately $750 million HIG Capital to sell Brazilian internet service provider to Claro pehub.com. Add-on activity includes Trinity Hunt-backed Allvia acquiring HR Pals to expand its workforce services platform Trinity Hunt-backed Allvia snaps up HR Pals pehub.com, and Sovereign making a further investment in Affinia following its initial backing of the founding firm in May 2023 Sovereign-backed Affinia makes add-on pehub.com.
Investment Banking and Fundraising Activity
Major banks are restructuring to better serve the private capital market, with Bank of America launching a dedicated Private Capital M&A Group specifically designed to unlock private equity exits Bank of America launches private capital M&A unit to unlock private equity exits pe-insights.com. Fundraising continues globally, though regional appetites are shifting; while Middle Eastern managers who commit to the region stand the best chance of success Middle East’s fundraising oasis awaits GPs who are willing to commit privateequityinternational.com, a separate report indicates that Limited Partners are slashing their Africa budgets amid waning risk appetites Side Letter: Sunk cost fallacy? privateequityinternational.com. Pictet Alternative Advisors successfully closed its inaugural direct private equity strategy, raising €403 million ($440 , focused on founder-led businesses Pictet raises $440m for first direct private equity fund targeting founder-led businesses pe-insights.com.
Venture Capital Ecosystem Dynamics
The broader venture ecosystem shows geographic strength and specialized focus, with Austin, Texas, startups achieving an all-time high for city funding Austin’s Star Is Still Shining Bright: Venture Funding To City’s Startups Hits All-Time High news.crunchbase.com. In Europe, the European Investment Fund (EIF) is launching a €15 billion fund of funds designed to back 100 growth-stage VC firms EIF launches €15bn fund of funds to back 100 growth-stage VCs sifted.eu. In the AI space, Harvey achieved an $11 billion valuation following a $200 million round co-led by GIC and Sequoia Harvey hits $11bn valuation as GIC and Sequoia lead $200m round pe-insights.com, while Accel and Prosus selected six startups from over 2,000 applicants for their inaugural India cohort, providing each with between $500,000 and $2 million Accel, Prosus pick six ‘off-the-map’ startups for inaugural India cohort techcrunch.com. Furthermore, European venture capital is increasingly targeting deeptech, with Balderton and AVP involved in internal disputes at Cognism Balderton, AVP in ‘covert plot’ to oust Cognism founder, court hears sifted.eu.
Strategic Portfolio Investments and Exits
Firms are making targeted investments across various industries, including Advent committing capital to engineering and consulting firm Atwell, with the expected close in the second quarter of 2026 Advent to invest in engineering and consulting firm Atwell pehub.com. In the IoT space, Alterra backed General Atlantic’s investment in Wireless Logic, alongside Montagu Alterra backs Wireless Logic alongside General Atlantic and Montagu pehub.com. Tower Brook is capitalizing on the sports apparel personalization trend by acquiring ID Unlimited, which supplies logos and numbers to major sports brands TowerBrook buys French sports platform ID Unlimited pehub.com. In contrast, Viking Growth finalized its exit from the European workforce management software provider Tamigo to Accel-KKR Viking Growth exits Tamigo to Accel-KKR pehub.com. Separately, a consortium of PE investors led by Astorg, Nordic Capital, Novo Holdings, and Cinven completed the sale of clinical trial data firm Clario to Thermo Fisher for $8.9 billion PE investor group completes sale of clinical trial data firm Clario to Thermo Fisher for $8.9bn pehub.com.
Staffing and Operational Adjustments
The current selective environment is leading to organizational streamlining in some areas, with European venture firm Speedinvest cutting 10% of its team following a period of internal churn Speedinvest cuts 10% of team after a period of churn sifted.eu. Meanwhile, Bonaccord made a minority investment in the commercial real estate credit platform Prime Finance to support its balance sheet and expand its credit offerings Bonaccord makes minority investment in commercial real estate credit platform Prime Finance pehub.com. In the UK, FPE Capital-backed Point74 acquired compliance platform Quor to establish a unified food software platform FPE-backed Point74 buys Quor to create the UK’s first unified food software platform pehub.com. Finally, Bow River is set to acquire VC firm Spur Capital in a transaction anticipated to conclude in the second quarter of 2026 Bow River to acquire VC firm Spur Capital pehub.com.