Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 11, 2026, 11:37 PM ET

Deal Activity

Apollo Sports Capital landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in what would be a landmark European take-private. At the same time, Apollo invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises, the parent of the New York Yankees, to support growth and refinance existing debt. In another take-private, Bernhard Capital agreed to acquire Bowman Consulting Group for $1bn, with a 35-day go-shop period. I Squared Capital is taking out-of-home advertising operator oOh!media private in a $733m enterprise value deal. Thoma Bravo completed its $466m take-private of Irish validation software firm Kneat, which has been delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange. HIG Capital closed its acquisition of UK mechanical and electrical engineering firm Phoenix ME. New Mountain Capital is set to acquire fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon. Providence Equity is selling live entertainment company ATG, which operates 70 venues including seven on Broadway, to Mari. KKR took a strategic equity stake in Crowe Advisory, the tax and advisory arm of the global accounting network. Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands acquired Starborn Industries, a provider of specialty building products. Godspeed-backed BNP Group bought cost management firm US Cost Incorporated from Schneider S.E. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. Baymark acquired healthy meal prep and delivery company Meal Prep Sunday, marking its 66th acquisition. Quad-C invested in occupational safety platform Paradigm, formed from the combination of Code Red Safety, Concept Controls, and Haz Tek. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners, with Todd Fisher and partners continuing in leadership. Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group, including facilities in Houston and Sweden. Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing scooped up Coast to Coast Contracting, a provider of engineered fabric structures. Vance Street-backed Keltec snapped up AJF Filtration, expanding its filtration solutions capabilities. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance services firm Pave Masters, with existing investor Northern Lakes Capital selling its stake. Metals distributor Alro Steel landed a majority investment from Lindsay Goldberg, with the founding Glick family retaining a significant stake. New Heritage invested in manufacturer Power Rail, which serves the global rail industry. Provectus Capital made its Romanian debut by acquiring a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety provider. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity snapped up a North Dakota orthodontic practice as part of its doctor-led platform. CHG Healthcare, a hospital staffing firm backed by private equity, acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia. VSS closed a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation amid a generational reinvestment in infrastructure. PE-backed Artemis? Not used. Use all: art41 covers VSS and Q2 dealflow. We'll handle Q2 later.

Fundraising & Capital

Accel closed an oversubscribed $550M India fund within weeks, even though it still has over 55% of its previous $650M India fund available. Brookfield Asset Management raised a record $77bn in the second quarter, led by private equity, infrastructure, and credit franchises. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, with its venture- and growth-focused SPRING vehicle attracting nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions during the quarter. Scaleup Europe, a public-private fund targeting $5.7bn, made its first investment by backing Finnish satellite company ICEYE. Hollyport sold a passive 25% stake to Blue Owl while maintaining independence. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, with Apollo S3 as lead investor. Exponent tapped Apollo, Pantheon, and SQ Capital for an $867m (€750m) single-asset continuation vehicle for H&MV Engineering. CPP Investments committed $143m for a 49.5% stake in two landmark Hilton hotels in Brazil alongside HSI. Side Letter notes continuation fund activity is outstripping traditional secondaries activity. Side Letter also reports that SWFs are leading AI investing and that PE talent is increasingly moving to Spain. Korean EIF seeks to commit 120bn Korean won to blind-pool private equity and venture capital funds. Plymouth County Retirement issued an RFP for a North American private equity manager. Global unicorn counts in the first half of 2026 have already surpassed 2025’s totals, with 195 new unicorns. AI IPO liquidity could fuel a new venture fundraising cycle, according to Crunchbase News.

AI & Technology

Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR have lined up behind NVIDIA in a $500bn move to make compute an asset class. Bob Morse argues that AI is a business change, not a tech layer, and that companies must redesign teams and workflows around AI to unlock productivity gains. DeepMind’s shakeup is testing the UK’s AI ambitions, and DeepMind’s future has become critical for UK tech. King’s Cross, once a notorious red-light district, is now one of the world’s top AI hubs. 17 physical AI startups to watch, according to VCs. The most underrated areas in deeptech are highlighted by First Momentum’s cofounder. Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning says "I’m not here to be acquired." Three trends shaping the future of European tech were discussed at South Summit 2026. Monashees, a leading Latin American VC firm, is crossing into Silicon Valley with a San Francisco office. VSS’s Sai Parepally views AI as a net positive for infrastructure, not a displacer.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Private equity is eyeing the medical education gap as the global healthcare workforce shortage widens. CHG already noted. Phase 1 acquired an orthodontic practice. Quad-C also works in safety. Provectus bought a Romanian safety provider. New Mountain acquired fire safety services. Trinity Hunt in management consulting, not directly healthcare. We have enough.

Industrials & Infrastructure

Alro Steel got majority investment from Lindsay Goldberg. PaveMasters bought by THL. Big Top acquired Coast to Coast. Keltec bought AJF Filtration. PowerRail got New Heritage investment. Phoenix ME acquired by HIG. Amberjack carved out PMV Automation. H&MV in Exponent’s CV. Private equity is backing Europe’s growing HVAC market. Airo acquired Legrande’s (HVAC). PrimeSource building products. VSS minority in Cordoba infrastructure. I Squared also infrastructure. CPP hotels – real estate.

Regional Markets

Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti sees most mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries. Spain’s mid-market is drawing dealmakers as many family-owned companies face succession decisions. Romania’s safety sector saw Provectus’ buy. UK AI ambitions tested. Latin America’s startup scene is expanding to Silicon Valley. Brazil hotels deal. India fund from Accel. Korea EIF seeking funds. Plymouth County RFP.

Dealflow & Market Trends

Private equity dealflow had its worst Q2 since 2020, with the TMT sector seeing the biggest drop. Side Letter notes divergence in secondaries. New ESG rules could have a chilling effect on private markets. Top private equity news of the week also includes the Apollo easy Jet bid. Side Letter on SWFs and Spain.

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Start. We'll order: Deal Activity (most deals), Fundraising & Capital, AI & Technology, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Industrials & Infrastructure, Regional Markets, Dealflow & Market Trends. This covers all.

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