Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: May 5, 2026, 11:30 PM ET

Private Equity Dealmaking & Sector Activity

The middle market saw varied activity, with platform acquisitions underscoring continued appetite for essential services and specialized healthcare. Platinum Equity acquired electric heating firm Infratech from its founders, while in healthcare services, Carlyle purchased health tech firms Knack RCM and Equalize RCM, with founders reinvesting part of their proceeds. Consolidation continued across several verticals: Goldman Sachs-backed Xpress Wellness expanded its behavioral health footprint by acquiring Midwest Counseling Services, and in environmental services, Allied Industrial-backed Liberty Waste Solutions picked up Randolph County Garbage Services. Further platform building occurred as Sterling Group-backed HLSG, an outsourced linen laundry provider for healthcare, expanded by securing Texas Textile Services, and Align Capital-backed Armko snapped up engineering consultant Kuhn & Associates.

Platform expansions in outsourced services and infrastructure also featured prominently. In the environmental sector, Coalesce Capital-backed Miller Environmental Group added Central Ohio Oil to its waste management portfolio, while in water management, KKR and XPV Water Partners sold Axius Water to CRH, a process paralleled by Copley Equity Partners testing the market for its engineering firm LJB, which sources suggest could fetch a 12x-14x EBITDA multiple. Elsewhere, Boyne launched a commercial cleaning platform via an investment in H&B Facility Services, and CapMan Infra agreed to acquire a majority stake in Nordic helicopter operator Heli Air Sweden. In technology, Long Path Partners finalized the take-private of UK software provider Idox, while Cinven-backed Alter Domus moved to acquire fund administration services provider MSC Group.

Exits and secondary sales demonstrated continued monetization across key sectors. THL Partners is set to sell AMI to Lattice Semiconductor for $1.65bn, with the transaction anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2026. In another exit, SK Capital completed the sale of its Noramco, Extractas Biosciences, and Purisys units to Siegfried Holding, though it retained ownership of Halo Pharmaceuticals. Separately, SE Capital sold HVAC and plumbing firm Sierra Platform to Redwood Services, while SK Capital also exited Phoenix Flavors & Fragrances Inc. to Turpaz Industries Ltd. The competitive sale process for Audax’s portfolio company Nextech, a commercial HVAC firm, advanced to the second round, with initial bids valuing the company around 15x EBITDA, or $1.5bn.

Venture Capital and AI Investment Trends

Venture funding momentum remained strong into April, with global funding reaching $56 billion, marking the third-highest monthly total in the last year and showing a 100% year-over-year increase, largely due to several large funding rounds driving the total. Artificial intelligence continued to attract substantial capital, evidenced by Blitzy raising $200M at a $1.4 billion post-money valuation for its autonomous software development platform. Investment giant BlackRock joined a funding round for voice AI firm Eleven Labs, which announced it hit $500M in annual recurring revenue. In contrast to the broader AI surge, a16z crypto is staying the course with its newly closed $2.2B fund, focusing on crypto and blockchain despite some VCs shifting focus to AI startups. Furthermore, Intel provided backing to quantum startup Quantware in a $178M Series B round intended to kick-start industrial-scale production.

Evolving Fund Structures & Investor Access

Regulatory updates in the US are creating clearer pathways for private markets to access defined contribution capital, paving the way for greater partnership between PE firms and 401(k) plans. This push for broader access is reflected in the evolution of fund structures, where the next generation of evergreen vehicles is reportedly being engineered around the asset class itself, rather than solely the investor profile as seen in new semi-liquid structures. However, the increased democratization poses calibration challenges, as demonstrated by the recent redemption rush experienced in credit evergreen funds, which served as a cautionary tale regarding managing liquidity demands. Meanwhile, secondaries are becoming integral to managing these evolving structures, accounting for an average of 13% of private wealth client portfolios, according to a recent Hamilton Lane report. Discussions around market sentiment suggest that the secondary market may have passed through the five stages of grief, with a greater focus now placed on ensuring that distribution-in-paid-in (DPI) capital calculations are applied consistently across transactions.

Ancillary Deals and Personnel Moves

Deal flow extended into specialized consulting and infrastructure, alongside key personnel appointments. In consulting, William Blair announced its acquisition of sports advisory firm Inner Circle Sports, while Baird Capital closed a single-asset continuation vehicle for life sciences consultancy Blue Matter. Columna Capital is acquiring pan-European pharma services platform Evidenze Group from Buenavista Equity Partners. In strategic moves, European health unicorn Doctolib is plotting a £100M UK expansion following its acquisition of London-based Medicus. Personnel changes included Amulet Capital appointing Adam Grossman as a partner to lead healthcare services platform scaling, and RoundTable bringing on Amardeep Kahlon as an operating partner to accelerate value creation within its portfolio companies. In the wealth management advisory space, Integrum, Lightyear, and Ontario Teachers’ are increasing their investment in Allworth Financial.