Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 10, 2026, 11:39 PM ET

Mega-Deals & Take-Private

Apollo landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in what would be one of Europe’s largest take-privates this year. Bernhard Capital agreed to take Bowman Consulting Group private for $1bn, including a 35-day go-shop period. I Squared Capital struck a $733m enterprise-value deal for oOh!media, offering a 100% premium to take the Australian out-of-home advertiser private. New Mountain agreed to buy fire-safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon, adding mission-critical engineering services to its portfolio. KKR closed a strategic equity investment in Crowe Advisory, the tax and advisory arm of the global accounting network.

Fundraising & Institutional Capital

Brookfield raised a record $77bn in the second quarter, with private equity, infrastructure and credit all contributing. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, driven by nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions to its SPRING venture-and-growth vehicle. Korea’s Employment Insurance Fund is seeking to commit 120bn won to blind-pool private equity and venture capital funds. CPP Investments committed about $143m for a 49.5% stake in two Hilton hotels in Brazil alongside HSI. VSS closed a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation and noting AI as a net positive for the sector. Amberjack Capital completed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group, which includes facilities in Houston and Solna, Sweden.

Market Trends & Data

Global PE dealflow suffered its worst second quarter since 2020, with the TMT sector seeing the steepest decline in deal count. On the bright side, unicorn creation surged: 195 companies joined the Crunchbase Unicorn Board in the first half of 2026, already exceeding full-year 2025 totals. A wave of major AI IPOs could return substantial liquidity to LPs, potentially fueling a new venture fundraising cycle. The secondaries market is diverging, with continuation fund activity outpacing traditional secondaries, while new ESG rules risk chilling private-market participation. In Spain, a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem is drawing mid-market dealmakers to family-owned firms approaching succession. Provectus Capital made its Romanian debut by acquiring a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety provider.

AI & Tech Ecosystem

A shakeup at DeepMind is testing the UK’s ambitions to remain an AI leader, while the lab’s future becomes increasingly critical for the broader tech sector. King’s Cross, once a notorious red-light district, has transformed into one of the world’s top AI hubs. Meanwhile, Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning declared he is “not here to be acquired,” signaling an independent growth path for the AI healthcare startup.