Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 5, 2026, 8:30 AM ET

Major Deals and Acquisitions

Silver Lake and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, alongside Affinity Partners, have finalized their acquisition of Electronic Arts in a $55 billion all-cash transaction, marking the largest leveraged buyout on record. KKR is set to acquire a 50 percent stake in Total Energies’ European onshore solar and wind business for €1.8 billion, following its prior acquisition of Total Energies' North American solar business for $1.25 billion. Mutares has completed its largest deal to date, acquiring SABIC's engineering thermoplastics business in the Americas and Europe for $450 million, which will be rebranded as Nex Point Materials. CVC and Partners Group are set to fully exit their investment in Żabka Group, Poland's largest convenience retailer, following an $8.6 billion bid from Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Thoma Bravo is selling Command Alkon, a software and platform technology provider for the heavy building materials industry, to Francisco Partners. AshGrove has backed 10x Banking, a company providing cloud-native core banking technology. Axum Capital agreed to acquire Barcode, a Los Angeles-based plant-based and hydration drink brand. Ridgemont has acquired Entact, a national provider of environmental remediation and geotechnical construction services, from JFLCO. Wynnchurch-backed Trimlite has purchased doormaker Barnett Millworks, expanding its geographic reach into the Southeast market. Wind Point Partners has acquired ECI, a managed services provider to alternative asset managers and regulated financial firms, from H.I.G. Capital. EIP and Ocean Sound-backed Convey has acquired Selectron, a provider of government and utility software. BV Investments is partnering with CEO Nate Kenney to support the growth of workforce compliance service provider Thomas & Company. Sheridan Capital has acquired Carolina Components Group, a provider of custom-engineered bioprocessing assemblies. Nextalia has held a first close of over €1.1 billion on its second flagship fund, Nextalia Private Equity II (NPE , attracting commitments from more than 200 investors. TPG is targeting $17 billion for its third healthcare fund, TPG X, as part of its broader $94 billion Capital platform for global private equity investments. Apollo is approximately halfway to its target for Fund XI, which has a fundraising goal of $22 billion to $25 billion. Met Life Investment Management has closed its third managed secondary transaction, raising approximately $1.2 billion for Met Life Investment Private Equity Partners Fund III, with Lexington Partners as the lead investor. Adams Street doubled its fund size with its latest flagship secondaries raise, securing $2.7 billion for Fund 8 as part of a $5 billion secondaries program. LGT Capital has launched its debut credit secondaries strategy, focusing on LP-led, GP-led, and opportunistic deals.

Boston Retirement has issued a request for proposal for up to an $85 million private equity mandate. The EU's €5 billion tech superfund is now officially open for business. Hamilton Lane indicated that investor hesitancy in evergreen funds is likely temporary, with some investors housing capital before redeeming to fund Hamilton Lane SMAs. PE Club is leveraging its network of former private equity executives to create an LP platform, attracting serial entrepreneurs and former partners from large European firms. US investors are driving Blue Earth's impact secondaries strategy forward, with the firm raising an additional $100 million for its debut dedicated secondaries fund. KKR Arctos are reportedly considering the launch of a GP-led strategy, aiming to build a significant business in this sub-segment.

Startup Funding and Valuations

Legaltech startup Wordsmith has raised a $14 million Series B extension from Index and FT Ventures. Magic School AI an edtech startup founded by an educator, has secured $63 million from venture capital investors. WindBorne Systems raised a $37 million Series B round to scale its weather balloons and AI-powered forecasts. Fintech startup Moss has achieved unicorn status with a €30 million Series C funding round. Oxylabs has reached a $3.6 billion valuation after a decade of declining venture capital, citing the "right timing" and "right partner." Menlo Ventures' Matt Murphy indicated that the firm's new $3 billion capital pool will focus on larger AI deals. Index Ventures raised a new $2 billion fund, doubling down on its AI investments. Marc Benioff-backed startup, June, has emerged from stealth with a $20 million pre-seed round aimed at simplifying AI adoption.

A16z has backed Happy Robot at a $1.2 billion valuation. Plural has led a $43 million round for Ore Energy, a next-generation battery startup. Zurich-based Exclaim Robotics has raised $4.95 million in its debut funding round. July, global venture funding reached $65 billion, a 100% year-over-year increase, with a record number of billion-dollar venture rounds. European robotics startups have raised more funding in the first six months of the year than in the previous two years combined.

AI and Technology Trends

Integrating AI into a startup's product strategy, while often viewed as a way to enhance valuation, can also inadvertently reduce exit value, according to tech strategic adviser Itay Sagie. AI has significant potential to improve administrative tasks, metadata management, royalty processing, and licensing efficiency within the music industry, leading to substantial deal-making. Njord Partners views AI as a natural and key part of its operational improvements and strategy, with the firm observing resilience in the value segment and exit market. Graphite's Mike Tilbury suggests that the rise of AI-generated content could lead to a re-rating of companies with "rights-clean" data, as this data is a critical input for AI development. are considering private equity investment due to concerns about AI's impact on their business models.

Other Notable Developments