Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: May 30, 2026, 11:32 AM ET

AI Investment Surge & Mega-Rounds

Venture capital's AI obsession reached new heights this week as Anthropic secured $65 billion in Series H funding, with Apollo and Blackstone syndicating $36 billion in private credit to support the generative AI giant's expansion. The financing frenzy extended to Groq's $650 million raise as the chipmaker pivots toward AI inference capabilities, while Corgi doubled its valuation to $2.6 billion following a $106 million raise in just three weeks. Ex-DeepMind researchers launched Inherent with $50 million to commercialize AI for scientific discovery, and Triomics captured $22 million from Battery Ventures to bring oncology-specific AI tools to cancer centers. Meanwhile, Mistral struck partnerships with BMW and Airbus in its push to build Europe's AI cloud infrastructure.

Major Portfolio Transactions

Deal flow remained active across sectors as MidOcean agreed to sell Zonda to CoStar Group in a transaction valuing the property data provider, while Bain Capital exited Estia Health to Stonepeak roughly 18 months after acquiring the aged care operator. Advaya Capital acquired Comscore Movies in a carveout from the media analytics firm, and DigitalBridge announced its $1.05 billion acquisition of energy-focused ArcLight Capital, bolstering its data center and infrastructure platform. Prospect Capital sold Valley Electric to MYR Group for $328 million, and Frazier acquired behavioral health pharmacy Altruix from Wind Rose Health Investors, expanding into specialty pharmacy services for mental health and developmental disability patients.

Fundraising Challenges & Geographic Expansion

Canadian private equity fundraising slumped in 2025 despite record investment levels, reflecting broader market dynamics as British Columbia Investment Management launched a Capital Solutions Group to provide financing to buyout firms facing exit droughts. EQT appointed Nicholas Macksey and Hari Gopalakrishnan as co-heads of its Private Capital Asia business, tasking them with deploying a record $15.6 billion regional fund. The Swedish firm also partnered with Google Cloud to accelerate AI adoption across more than 300 portfolio companies, while Actis reached $2.5 billion at first close of its $6 billion flagship energy fund. KKR opened its Milan office as part of a broader European localization strategy.

Strategic Restructurings & Platform Additions

Ares Management advanced restructuring efforts at Eagle Football, the multi-club ownership group controlling French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais, as Met Life evaluates lender terms. JP Morgan Asset Management expanded its ETF platform with the launch of a Managed Futures Plus fund on Nasdaq. On the operational front, Quad-C hired Ali Shams as managing director from his previous role as technology operating executive at HIG Capital, while Transom appointed Jeff Haight as operating partner to oversee value creation initiatives across select portfolio companies.

Healthcare & Oncology Focus

Private equity firms targeted six oncology-related acquisitions as the sector attracted attention from AEA Investors, Bridgepoint, and Kohlberg. ACP acquired medical technology firm Heritage Imaging, with CEO Dr. Steve Coppess continuing to lead the company alongside existing management. The trend toward specialized healthcare assets continued as Bregal Partners-backed Juniper Landscaping acquired Hilton Head Landscapes, and Inflexion supported the launch of Mittelstands-Assekuranz-Partner, a German insurance broker integrating Cremer Assekuranz as its first strategic partner.

Secondaries Market Dynamics

The secondaries market grappled with legal counsel costs exceeding $25,000 per LP-led fund interest, as GP advisory fees ranged from zero to $79,000 according to Alt Convey research. Oaktree partnered with Pantheon to scale European lending with up to €1 billion in planned investment, while senior executives defended secondaries mark-up practices amid public skepticism. UK regulatory scrutiny emerged as a competitive disadvantage for secondaries deals, with operational rather than structural challenges impacting transaction execution according to Winston & Strawn's Yulia Makarova.

Geographic Expansion & Emerging Markets

Paris positioned itself as potentially the most important AI city outside Silicon Valley as European founders increasingly choose domestic scaling over immediate U.S. relocation. Mittelstands-Assekuranz-Partner expanded into Denmark through Eurazeo's Planetary Boundaries Fund acquiring majority control of circular IT economy business T1A Group. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's $1.15 trillion Public Investment Fund radically changed supply chain strategies across its private equity portfolio, centralizing data using AI amid persistent geopolitical instability. The fund's operating partner Jose De Ochoa outlined these shifts at a recent conference.

Diversity & Access Initiatives

Despite the AI funding boom, venture dollars for Black startup founders remained scarce in 2025, with the share of U.S. startup funding going to companies with Black founders staying low even as overall funding ticked higher. In response, Aequitas Invest built an alternative funding platform co-founded by PayPal veteran Molly Huyck and former Navy officer Amie Konwinski, providing women-led businesses dedicated capital-raising pathways. The initiative reflects growing recognition that founders should evaluate investors' financial health as carefully as their market thesis amid acquisition-focused exit environments.