Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: May 1, 2026, 11:30 PM ET

Deal Flow & Exits: Sector Focus and Large Transactions

Private equity activity showed a mix of large buyouts and sector-specific consolidation, with healthcare and B2B services remaining areas of focus. ArchiMed will take Esperion Therapeutics private in an $1.1 billion transaction slated for closure in the third quarter of 2026, while Archimed also partnered with La Caisse to acquire Stago, a manufacturer of hemostasis equipment. In business services, Macquarie’s group successfully exited Louisiana electric utility Cleco to Stonepeak and Bernhard Capital, following a period where business services attractiveness and grade-B portfolio company exits were top concerns discussed at Deal Max. Furthermore, eye care assets are seeing heightened interest, with firms including Goldman Sachs and Gryphon Investors eyeing platform investments across six potential deals in the sector.

In infrastructure and industrials, Clearlake completed the buyout of power and electric services platform Qualus from New Balance Capital, while Blackstone Infrastructure agreed to invest in Eurowind Energy, a pan-European renewables developer. Exits in this space included Freshstream looking to sell regional aircraft lessor True Noord to Arcus Infrastructure. On the corporate carve-out front, OpenGate intends to acquire Total Safety’s EMEA division, a provider of mission-critical safety services for petrochemical and oil and gas customers across the region.

New Funds, Strategy Shifts, and Firm Personnel

Several operational moves signal repositioning within the industry, including the official rollout of a new private equity firm, Mako, co-founded by former United Airlines chairman and CEO Oscar Munoz. In terms of personnel additions, Ares Management appointed Peter Ogilvie, currently head of its corporate strategy group, as its new Chief Operating Officer and head of strategy, while Riverwood brought on Mac Hofeditz as a managing director from Vector Capital Management. Separately, Beach Point appointed Fred Storz as a managing director based in its New York office, and Greybull Stewardship tapped Kevin Mohr, a former US Coast Guard financial leader, as CFO operating partner.

The distribution environment remains challenging, prompting some LPs to seek liquidity via secondary markets; Manulife is buying infrastructure continuation vehicles (CVs) and secondaries to address low distribution to paid-in capital (DPI) ratios, a concern amplified by rising retail flows into infrastructure assets. In the fundraising arena, 137 Ventures, a backer of SpaceX and Anduril, successfully raised over $700 million across two growth-stage funds. Meanwhile, GEPS, the South Korean pension fund, plans to commit $150 million to $200 million in buyout and secondaries funds in 2026, while GEPS also indicated it would be active in secondaries across private equity, debt, real estate, and infrastructure next year.

Democratization and LP/GP Dynamics

Discussions around the democratization of private equity are centering on structural innovation and better access for individual investors. Firms emphasize that this trend involves restoring prior access to economic growth, not merely opening doors, according to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Hybrid fund structures are emerging as an appealing route for this convergence of public and private markets, as noted by Ropes & Gray. Step Stone Group suggests that individual investors are increasingly receiving institutional-quality access to private markets, enabling better quality exposure. However, LP concerns persist regarding governance, with the ILPA focusing on key terms such as key person provisions and carried interest distribution clarity amidst evolving fund structures.

Venture Capital and AI Concentration

Venture capital continues to see significant capital concentration, particularly toward artificial intelligence, driving massive valuations for leading AI firms. Sources indicate that OpenAI competitor Anthropic is fielding preemptive offers valuing the company between $850 billion and $900 billion for a potential new $50 billion funding round. This AI focus is mirrored in seed funding, where the San Francisco Bay Area captured a growing share of both the dollars and deals in 2025, even as overall seed deal counts have recently fallen from their peak. Furthermore, BMW i Ventures deployed a new $300 million fund explicitly prioritizing startups working on agentic AI and industrial software. In a non-AI-specific large raise, defense technology led the week’s major venture deals, topped by a $600 million investment into space security startup True Anomaly.

Non-Dilutive Capital and Portfolio Management

In a move bypassing traditional equity dilution, direct-to-consumer brand Musely secured $360 million in non-dilutive capital from General Catalyst, intended to aggressively fund customer acquisition efforts. Meanwhile, portfolio management strategies are adapting to market uncertainty; TPG maintains its software bet is performing, with its portfolio recording 20% year-on-year growth despite accelerating AI disruption, viewing the AI shift as a "positive weapon" for private equity. On the exit front, Partners Group stated that while building and exiting businesses remains possible in the current unsettled environment, prioritizing quality assets is paramount.

Sector-Specific Investments and Acquisitions

The sports investment space saw activity on both the men’s and women’s professional soccer fronts, with KKR establishing Hometown Soccer Holdings to support the evolution of the MLS Next Pro league, and Avenue Sports Fund investing in the North Carolina Courage. In technology bolt-ons, Boomerang-backed Pinnaql executed its third tuck-in acquisition in ten months by snapping up Pharma Resource Group, while Battery Ventures-backed VertiGIS acquired location master data management software provider 1Spatial. In Europe, Inflexion is acquiring a minority stake in Marktlink Capital, which provides access to private funds for entrepreneurs across North America and Europe. Finally, DBAY-backed Finsbury Food Group expanded its portfolio by picking up Flower & White, a producer of lower-calorie snack bars.