Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: July 30, 2026, 11:30 AM ET

Mega-Funds and Strategic Acquisitions Shape the Landscape

Mega-funds continue to dominate deal-making, with Brookfield holding a $2bn first close on its Middle East buyout fund, anchored by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Platinum Equity is set to acquire half of Nestlé's waters and premium beverages business for $3.4bn, forming a new entity valued at €4.9bn ($5.6bn) enterprise value Platinum Equity to take 50%. In a significant carve-out, KKR and Energy Capital Partners are pursuing a £5.75bn ($7.78bn) takeover of DCC, receiving board backing despite shareholder dissent. Bain Capital is investing $1.5bn in infrastructure platform Eaton Fiber to accelerate broadband expansion across the US, and also plans to acquire UK vitamins leader Vitabiotics for approximately £900m ($1.2bn) Bain Capital to acquire UK. Blackstone's energy transition group is acquiring ultrasonic inspections company DarkVision from Koch, while Providence Equity Partners will assume full ownership of the agency formerly known as Wasserman Providence Equity takes full control.

Sector-Specific Deal Activity and Emerging Trends

Private equity's interest in wealth management remains strong, with, which manages over $3 billion in assets. Apax is acquiring medical packaging firms Centor and another plastic packaging company from Gerresheimer for €1.5bn, with the combined businesses generating €570 million in revenue in 2025. Blackstone and Colony IM are jointly acquiring Accor's approximately 30.7% stake in hotel owner Essendi for up to €975m ($1.12bn) Blackstone and Colony IM. In the technology sector from Hg and EQT. Carlyle-backed Included Health will acquire Firefly Health, and Carlyle is also backing cybersecurity firm Secturion.

Secondaries Market Activity and Investor Strategies

The secondaries market is seeing robust activity, with that has already made 12 investments. Hamilton Lane is leading a single-asset continuation vehicle for wealth management asset The Cynosure Group. Evercore is expanding its APAC private capital advisory unit, more than doubling headcount to capitalize on growth in the region's secondaries market. Meanwhile, family office Green Bear is reducing its private equity exposure, favoring separately managed accounts for cost-efficiency benefits amid lower private equity returns. Step Stone is leading a £140m continuation vehicle for Premier Modular, and Fox Path has disclosed details of its debut credit secondaries fund.

AI Integration, VC Roles, and Startup Funding

Artificial intelligence continues to be a key focus, though scrutiny is mounting over its actual value creation capabilities, with some fearing GPs may overpromise and underdeliver. Despite this, AI startups in cybersecurity have raised $855 million across more than 150 reported seed-stage rounds this year. London-based Inforcer raised a $50 million Series C round led by Insight Partners to help smaller businesses navigate AI and security risks. Centralize, an enterprise sales platform founded by former Meta and Slack engineers, has raised $15 million in Series A funding to build a "deal GPS" for enterprise sales. Freehand has secured $75 million in Series B funding to scale autonomous AI agents for supply chain spend management. In other VC news, European VCs are reportedly cheering the chip rout, and some are looking for VCs with "industrial know-how". Additionally, VCs are increasingly taking on operator roles within their portfolio companies.