Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 10, 2026, 8:41 PM ET

Private Equity Briefing: Past 3 Days

Dealmaking

Apollo landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in a landmark European take-private, one of the largest deals announced this week. In the US, Bernhard Capital agreed to take Bowman Consulting Group private for $1bn, including a 35-day go-shop period. I Squared Capital agreed to a $733m take-private of oOh!media at a 100% premium to its undisturbed share price. New Mountain Capital will acquire fire safety specialist Jensen Hughes from Gryphon, adding mission-critical engineering and consulting services. KKR closed a strategic equity investment in Crowe Advisory, the tax and advisory arm of one of the largest global accounting networks. Amberjack Capital completed a carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group, including facilities in Houston and Solna, Sweden. CPP Investments committed approximately $143m for a 49.5% stake in two Hilton hotels in Brazil via a joint venture with HSI. In Romania, Provectus Capital Partners bought a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety provider. VSS closed a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation, with principal Sai Parepally noting that AI is a net positive and cannot reasonably displace the need for physical infrastructure. VSS’s investment comes amid a broader Q2 that saw the worst private equity dealflow since 2020, with the TMT sector posting the sharpest decline.

Fundraising & AUM

Brookfield Asset Management raised a record $77bn in Q2, led by private equity, infrastructure and credit. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, now at $21bn, with its venture- and growth-focused SPRING vehicle attracting nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions during the quarter, according to CEO Scott Hart. Korea’s Employment Insurance Fund is seeking to commit 120bn Korean won to blind-pool private equity and venture capital funds for 2026. Global new unicorn counts in the first half of 2026 have already surpassed 2025’s full-year totals, with 195 companies joining the Crunchbase Unicorn Board. A wave of major AI IPOs could return significant liquidity to LPs, potentially fueling a new venture fundraising cycle rather than just moving public-market valuations.

Market Trends & Perspectives

Continuation funds are outstripping traditional secondary activity, according to the latest Side Letter analysis, as GPs seek to hold assets longer. The Spanish mid-market is drawing increased interest from dealmakers, with many of Iberia’s strongest family-owned companies approaching succession decisions and seeking external capital to professionalize and scale internationally. In the UK, the DeepMind shakeup is testing the country’s AI ambitions, with the lab’s future becoming increasingly critical for the domestic tech ecosystem. Separately, King’s Cross — once a notorious red-light district — has become one of the world’s top AI hubs, sprouting startups and attracting venture capital. Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning insists the company is “not here to be acquired,” signaling a focus on independence and growth in the AI healthcare space. DeepMind’s future has become all the more important for the UK as the competition for AI talent and capital intensifies.