Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: May 14, 2026, 11:30 PM ET

Deals & Exits

Blackstone took the largest blind-pool REIT public, raising $1.75bn on the New York Stock Exchange to finance AI data center expansion, while Brookfield Asset Management moved to acquire World Freight Company from EQT and PAI in a $1.2bn deal that signals appetite for transport assets amid logistics re-shoring trends. The week also saw KKR-backed Global Medical Response list on the NYSE at a $3.3bn valuation after cutting its IPO price, raising $479m in a scaled-back debut, and Gen Nx360 sold Precision Aviation Group to VSE for over $2bn, the largest exit of the year so far in the aviation services sector. On the buyout side, American Securities disposed of CPM to Rosebank for $2.1bn, a processing equipment maker it had held since 2018, and EQT launched a tender offer for Japanese price-comparison site Kakaku.com at JPY 3,000 per share, pushing to take the business private through its BPEA Private Equity Fund IX.

European Consolidation & Fintech

Verdane completed its acquisition of Augmentum Fintech, delisting the London-listed fintech from the exchange on 13 May after shareholder approval, and is now targeting a €1.6bn raise for its lower mid-market Edda IV fund, €500m more than its predecessor. Ardian arranged a unitranche to support IK Partners' LBO of French wealth manager Rhétorès, while EQT secured backing from QIA and Porsche SE for its bid to acquire Volkswagen's Everllence marine engine business at an €8bn asking price. Green Arrow Capital merged with DeA Capital to create Italy's largest alternative investment manager, combining €8bn in assets under management, and Ambienta snapped up Italian lighting manufacturer Disano in another cross-border consolidation play.

Defense & AI Fundraising

Defense tech continues to attract outsized capital as Anduril Industries raised $5bn at a $61bn valuation, doubling its previous mark and shattering records for the sector, while DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs secured $2.1bn in what analysts say is the largest single round for a drug-discovery AI platform. Blackstone and Airbus lined up behind a €600m round for German drone maker Quantum Systems, valuing the business at roughly €7bn, and Carlyle emerged as a leading suitor for Jardine Matheson's pan-Asian KFC and Pizza Hut operations, joining a crowded auction for the region's restaurant assets. Meanwhile, Verdane is eyeing a stake in Telenor's IoT unit Telenor Connexion, and Blackstone is laying groundwork for a third vintage of its long-dated buyout strategy as it scales up for AI-related infrastructure.

Secondaries & Fund Formation

Houlihan Lokey's latest credit and private equity secondary study found that rising buyside demand has pushed co-investment vehicle pricing higher, with fewer deals priced in the lower range as allocators compete for quality assets. Evercore brought on senior infra secondaries talent from Campbell Lutyens as the investment bank builds a European credit secondaries practice, while Harbour Vest warned that software secondaries are becoming harder to close as some businesses face obsolescence from AI disruption. Cambridge Associates is expanding into credit secondaries and specialty lending to serve Asia's fast-growing base of high-net-worth clients, and Pantheon hired CVC's Leif Lindbäck to lead its GP-led secondaries push, recruiting one of Europe's most senior TMT investors. Lazard's agreed acquisition of Campbell Lutyens was framed by co-CEOs as a necessary step to compete at scale, with future integration expected to unlock pricing power in an increasingly concentrated advisory market.

Smaller Deals & Sector Bets

On the smaller end, Balance Point injected capital into jewelry retail software provider The Edge as part of Serent Capital's broader acquisition, General Atlantic led a funding round into PowerGEM, and Good Springs invested in Snyder Environmental Services, a water and wastewater treatment provider. Stone-Goff backed real estate tech firm 5Q Partners concurrent with its acquisition of One11 Advisors, while Quad-C Management took a stake in furniture and wallcovering designer Thibaut across multiple heritage brands. Apollo acquired Noble Environmental, a solid waste services operator, and Main Capital invested in insurtech firm Agenium, a no-code platform for life and annuity carriers. The pace of smaller transactions suggests capital is flowing into operational turnarounds and niche verticals even as headline mega-deals dominate the news cycle.

Fundraising & Talent

Welsh Carson targeted $5bn for its 15th flagship vehicle, focused on mid-market buyouts across North America, while PSG sought €3.4bn for its third Europe-dedicated fund with a first-half final close. Kevin Hartz's A* closed its third fund at $450m, maintaining an average check size between $3 million and $5 million across AI, fintech, healthcare and security. Mako recruited Vanessa Gabela as partner and IR head to lead capital formation, and Bridge Growth Partners tapped Ragunath Ramanathan and Zane Rowe to expand its executive bench, drawing on Thomson Reuters and Workday leadership experience. Houlihan Lokey reported $30bn of oil and gas assets coming to market amid heightened geopolitical risk, while BlackRock's GIP, Temasek and ADNOC launched a $30bn infrastructure platform for Gulf and Central Asia, underscoring how sovereign and institutional capital pools are converging on infrastructure as an asset class.

Conferences & Market Context

The European private equity calendar is filling up as Italy's largest PE conference returns to Milan in May, France's convenes in Paris in March, the Nordics event heads to Stockholm in November, Iberia's gathers in Madrid in October, and Switzerland's premier event is set for Zurich in June. These gatherings come as Q1 2026 data shows PE deal volume fell while aggregate transaction value rose, reflecting a market that is selecting fewer but larger opportunities. Meanwhile, KKR exited a Danish residential portfolio to Pears Global, and William Blair acquired Inner Circle Sports to capture GP and LP stakes in the sector, signaling that niche vertical expertise is becoming a differentiator in an increasingly competitive fund formation environment.