Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 11, 2026, 2:42 PM ET

Private Equity

Brookfield Asset Management raised a record $77bn in the second quarter, driven by its private equity, infrastructure and credit units. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, with its venture and growth vehicle SPRING attracting nearly $1.7bn in quarterly subscriptions. Meanwhile, Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR are lining up behind Nvidia in a $500bn push to establish compute as an institutional asset class.

Major Take-Privates and Blockbuster Deals

Apollo Sports Capital has injected $2.6bn into Yankee Global Enterprises, parent of the New York Yankees, to fund growth and refinance debt. In the largest European deal of the week, Apollo landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet. Bernhard Capital agreed to take Bowman Consulting private for $1bn, including a 35-day go-shop period. I Squared Capital is acquiring oOh!media for $733m on an enterprise basis, a 100% premium. Thoma Bravo completed its $466m take-private of Kneat, delisting the Irish validation software firm from the TSX.

Continuation Funds, Secondaries and Strategic Interests

Exponent closed an $867m (€750m) single-asset continuation vehicle for H&MV Engineering, tapping Apollo, Pantheon and SQ Capital. Monogram completed a continuation fund for its beverage company Mountaintop, led by Apollo S3. Hollyport sold a passive 25% stake to Blue Owl while remaining independent, underscoring the depth of secondaries demand. A new Side Letter notes that continuation fund activity is now outstripping traditional secondaries. KKR took a strategic equity stake in Crowe’s advisory business.

Sector-Focused Deployments: HVAC, Infrastructure & Manufacturing

Private equity is increasingly playing in Europe’s growing HVAC market. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired Legrande’s Enterprises, a specialty plumbing and HVAC firm. On the infrastructure side, VSS closed a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation and arguing AI cannot displace physical assets. CPP Investments teamed up with HSI to acquire a 49.5% interest in two Hilton hotels in Brazil for $143m. In manufacturing, New Heritage invested in Power Rail, a locomotive parts manufacturer, while Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing acquired Coast to Coast Contracting. Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands acquired Starborn Industries.

Other Fundraising and Deal Activity

Quad-C invested in Paradigm, a safety and health platform formed from Code Red Safety, Concept Controls and Haz Tek. Trinity Hunt backed Fisher Management Partners. Vance Street-backed Keltec snapped up AJF Filtration. Baymark acquired Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. Godspeed-backed BNP Group bought US Cost Incorporated from Schneider SE. HIG Capital completed its acquisition of UK engineering firm Phoenix ME. New Mountain will acquire fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon. Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group.

Regional Spotlights: Europe, Spain, Latin America and Asia

Scaleup Europe, a public-private fund targeting $5.7bn, made its first investment backing Finnish satellite company ICEYE. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is drawing dealmakers to the Spanish mid-market, with many family-owned businesses approaching succession. Ardian’s co-CEO Mark Benedetti highlighted most mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries, as more families seek international expansion partners. Provectus Capital made its Romanian debut by acquiring a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety provider. Monashees, the influential Latin American VC firm, is crossing into Silicon Valley with a permanent San Francisco presence. In Korea, the Employment Insurance Fund is seeking to commit 120bn won to blind-pool private equity and venture funds. Plymouth County Retirement Association issued an RFP for a North American private equity manager.

Tech & AI: Startups, Unicorns and IPOs

Global new unicorn counts in the first half of 2026 have already surpassed 2025’s totals, with 195 companies joining the board, according to Crunchbase. A wave of AI IPOs could return significant liquidity to LPs, fueling a new venture fundraising cycle — that is the biggest consequence of an AI IPO, as argued in a Crunchbase analysis. AI is a business change, not a technology change, according to Bob Morse of Morse Corp, who advises redesigning workflows around AI. 17 physical AI startups to watch have been highlighted by VCs, while First Momentum’s cofounder pointed to the most underrated areas in deeptech. DeepMind’s shakeup tests the UK’s AI ambitions, and its future has become all the more critical for the UK. The former red-light district of King’s Cross is now one of the world’s top AI hubs. Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning declared “I’m not here to be acquired.” South Summit 2026 highlighted three trends shaping European tech.

Market Trends and Dealflow

Private equity dealflow had its worst Q2 since 2020, with TMT seeing the biggest drop, as reported by PE Hub. Nevertheless, Lindsay Goldberg took a majority stake in metals distributor Alro Steel, with the founding Glick family retaining a significant ownership. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance firm Pave Masters, with Northern Lakes Capital exiting. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity snapped up a North Dakota orthodontic practice.