Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 8, 2026, 8:37 AM ET

Private Equity

Mega-Deals & Take-Privates

Apollo secured a recommended £5.7bn cash offer for easy Jet, ending a four-week bidding contest and marking one of Europe’s largest take-privates. The deal highlights a rising trend of “bear hugs” in UK public-to-private transactions, with Apollo’s bid being described as a decisive move. Meanwhile, Bodycote confirmed it received two competing conditional proposals from CVC and Veritas Capital, each valuing the heat treatment specialist at £1.56bn. In the healthcare sector, KKR agreed to acquire Medicover India, a 24-hospital multi-specialty network, from Nasdaq Stockholm-listed Medicover AB. Bain Capital also struck a deal to buy Gong cha from TA Associates, adding the global tea chain to its consumer portfolio.

Secondaries & Continuation Vehicles

Pantheon made a splash by purchasing $523m of private credit assets from BlackRock TCP Capital in a landmark business development company continuation vehicle. The new vehicle will house over $500m of debt positions at 95% of gross fair value as of December 2025. In venture secondaries, G Squared closed its seventh flagship fund at $2.3bn, roughly double the size of its predecessor and raised in half the time. Carlyle’s CEO Harvey Schwartz said cyclical tailwinds buoying secondaries will persist for the next several years, with Alp Invest increasingly seen as a corporate finance business. Single-asset deals in infrastructure are blooming, but discipline and entry valuations remain critical, according to Stafford’s William. In a related trend, GP-leds dominated the first half of the year, driven by fundraising and expansion into new asset classes, as market volatility only tells part of the story.

Fundraising & Institutional Capital

Allianz reported record operating profit in Q2, driven by €39bn of net inflows at its asset management arm, pushing third-party AuM to a record €2.16tn. PE mega-firms are largely defying fundraising and exit headwinds, as seen in recent earnings calls. OMERS is plotting a fivefold increase of its private equity portfolio. In Asia, Korea Post Insurance plans to commit 60bn Korean won to domestic blind-pool venture capital funds for 2026, while MMAA seeks 300bn Korean won for domestic blind-pool PE/VC funds. In Europe, Italian pension fund ENPAV released an RFP for private equity co-investment. The New Jersey Division of Investment sees opportunity in the slow exit market, treating re-ups and new opportunities equally.

Venture & Growth Deals

Moove raised $250M to scale its autonomous vehicle fleet management, planning to eventually own Waymo robotaxis. A big week for big checks saw three companies secure financings of $1bn or more, including in sectors like AI and fintech. Active startup investors kept up the pace in July, with Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator among the most prolific. Y Combinator’s 2026 classes show a growing trend of repeat founders, with 454 repeat founders in the dataset. Lightspeed hired a new team member via Instagram DM, according to partners Josh Machiz and Claire Zau. A16z expanded its European scout network to over 30 individuals, hunting for deals across the region. Lendable is chasing a “superapp” vision but is more constrained by capacity than ideas. Pleo faces a culture crisis amid an executive exodus and sale speculation.

Healthcare, Pharma & Clinical Services

Private equity firms including Accel-KKR, Bain and Knox Lane are betting on clinical workforce services, with eight deals tracked in the sector. Wise Equity inked an agreement to acquire E-Pharma Trento, which may pursue bolt-on acquisitions for new technologies. Eir Partners invested in ClaimsBridge and supported the add-on of Dialysis PPO. Tortuga Growth Partners invested in Advanced eClinical Training out of its Fund I. In radiopharma, Nordic Capital completed an $800m take-private of BWXT’s nuclear medicine business. Ares Management is leading a $2.2bn private credit package for Med Impact Holdings’ acquisition of Medical Card System.

Infrastructure, Energy & Power

Partners Group agreed to acquire a majority stake in AVK Power Solutions, a provider of power systems for data centers, having delivered over 20,000 projects. LS Power will acquire the Brazos Valley gas-fired power plant from Constellation, satisfying a regulatory divestiture commitment. Goldman Sachs Asset Management is teeing up data center contractor Divcon Controls for sale. Nexa Equity-backed Facility Grid acquired autonomous commissioning company Ping Cx, introducing a new product strategy. Arlington-backed TRP Infrastructure closed five add-on deals to form Gulf Highway Materials, a new highway plastics division. Veritas Capital agreed to acquire Saber Power Services from Greenbelt, a vertically integrated power infrastructure platform. Veritas also struck a deal to buy environmental consultant Trinity Consultants from Oak Hill.

Business Services & Other Buyouts

Carlyle picked up a minority stake in Prime Capital Financial, exiting Abry Partners from a $50bn AUM wealth platform after three years of growth. Broad Sky grew Smith + Howard 4x before exiting to TPG, with CEO Tyler Zachem noting the durability of tax and audit advisory. Copley Equity-backed FMG Leading snapped up Broadbranch Advisors in a deal closed at end of July. RedBird’s Affinia added Wilson Partners in a UK accounting tie-up. KKR-backed FGS Global acquired government affairs firm Rich Feuer Anderson, its second such acquisition. Clearlake co-founder Feliciano is nearing a record $3.9bn MLB deal for the San Diego Padres, the most expensive franchise sale in baseball history. PE-backed ContextLogic agreed to acquire chemicals manufacturer gChem from Eagle Tree for $850m. Sunoco will acquire Court Square-backed oil transporter Offen Petroleum for $600m, which distributes 2.5bn gallons annually. MPK Equity-backed Gorgeous Collective acquired Clean Your Dirty Face, its first acquisition since platform launch. Music rights remain an “exceptionally active” market, says Reed Smith’s Josh Love, with PE firms like Blackstone, TPG and EQT also partnering with AI businesses.

People, Firms & European Highlights

Bernard Arnault installed Aymeric Le Clere as CEO of Financière Agache, the €3.1bn holding vehicle that anchors LVMH control. Yann LeCun joined new VC firm 224 Ventures, which has 244 LPs. The top junior VCs to watch in Europe, according to partners, were highlighted by Sifted. Europe’s 50 most active equity investors in H1 2026 were ranked. The UK expanded its talent visa to over 100 companies. Pleo’s culture crisis, Lendable’s superapp ambitions, and QMUL spinouts looking to raise were among notable European startup stories.