Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 12, 2026, 8:46 AM ET

Mega-Fundraising & Institutional Capital

Brookfield gathered a record $77bn in Q2, led by its private equity, infrastructure, and credit franchises. StepStone surpassed $21bn in private wealth AUM, with its SPRING vehicle attracting nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions. Accel raised $800m for its ninth early-stage Europe fund, while also closing an oversubscribed $550M India fund within weeks. HarbourVest held a final close of $4.75bn for its seventh flagship co-investment fund, targeting AI and healthcare innovation. The public-private Scaleup Europe fund, with a $5.7bn target, made its first investment by backing Finnish satellite company ICEYE. Lovable raised $400m backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund at a $13.3bn valuation. In Asia, Korea’s Employment Insurance Fund seeks 120bn won for blind-pool PE/VC funds, while the Plymouth County Retirement Association issued an RFP for a North American private equity manager.

Big Tech & AI Infrastructure

Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR have lined up behind NVIDIA in a $500bn push to make compute an asset class. Apollo Sports Capital invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises, the parent of the New York Yankees. KKR took a strategic stake in Crowe’s advisory business. A wave of AI IPOs could return significant liquidity to LPs, fueling a new venture fundraising cycle. The DeepMind shakeup tests the UK’s AI ambitions, with its future becoming critical for the country’s tech ecosystem. London’s King’s Cross, once a red-light district, is now a top AI hub. VCs are watching 17 physical AI startups and deeptech founders are dictating term sheets in 2026. First Momentum highlights the most underrated deeptech areas.

Secondaries & Continuation Vehicles

Hollyport maintained independence by selling a 25% passive stake to Blue Owl. US investors are questioning credit secondaries valuations. Exponent closed an ~$867m single-asset continuation vehicle for H&MV Engineering, tapping Apollo, Pantheon, and SQ Capital. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, led by Apollo S3. Continuation fund activity now outstrips traditional secondaries activity, according to a Side Letter.

Energy & Industrials

Solar energy is drawing private equity interest. I Squared Capital agreed a $733m take-private of oOh!media at a 100% premium. Alro Steel landed a majority investment from Lindsay Goldberg, with the founding Glick family retaining a stake. New Heritage invested in locomotive parts maker Power Rail. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance firm Pave Masters, with Northern Lakes Capital exiting. Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing acquired Coast to Coast Contracting. Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands snapped up Starborn Industries. Vance Street-backed Keltec acquired AJF Filtration. Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group. Private equity is playing in the growing European HVAC market. 16 energy startups to watch in Europe, according to investors.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Bernhard Capital agreed to take private Bowman Consulting Group for $1bn. New Mountain will acquire fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon. CHG Healthcare acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity snapped up a North Dakota orthodontic practice. Medical education presents an opportunity for PE as the healthcare workforce gap widens. Provectus Capital made its Romanian debut by acquiring a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, an occupational health and safety firm.

Consumer & Business Services

Baymark acquired healthy meal prep company Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners. Godspeed-backed BNP Group acquired cost management firm US Cost Incorporated from Schneider S.E. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. Clearview-backed Capitol Services acquired corporate services provider Wolz. VSS closed a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation, with AI seen as a net positive. Quad-C invested in occupational safety platform Paradigm, formed from Code Red Safety, Concept Controls, and Haz Tek.

European Dealmaking & Mid-Market

Providence exited ATG Entertainment in a reported $6bn sale to Ari Emanuel’s MARI, operating 70 venues across the UK, US, Germany, and Spain. Apollo landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in a landmark European take-private. HIG Capital acquired UK engineering firm Phoenix ME. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti sees most mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries, with more family-owned firms seeking international partners. The Spanish mid-market is attracting dealmakers as family-owned companies approach succession decisions. An ex-LocalGlobe trio is plotting a new VC firm. Lessons from Ukraine on keeping morale highlight the resilience of tech workers amid war. South Summit 2026 revealed three trends shaping European tech. Fitness startup funding is rebounding, with VCs favoring AI and data over hardware; H1 investment totaled over $3.6bn. Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning says he’s “not here to be acquired.”

Venture Capital & Startups

Global new unicorn counts in H1 2026 have already surpassed 2025’s totals, with 195 companies joining the board. Monashees, the VC firm that helped build Latin America’s startup scene, is crossing into Silicon Valley with a San Francisco office. Drone startup Uforce is targeting upwards of a $4bn valuation in a new raise. AI-native strategy argues AI is a business change, not a technology change, requiring work redesign.

Notable M&A & Take-Privates

Blackstone and La Caisse are leading a $1.8bn minority investment for a 25% stake in Air Canada’s Aeroplan, valuing the loyalty program at ~$7.2bn. Thoma Bravo completed a $466m take-private of validation software firm Kneat. CPP Investments teamed up with HSI in a $143m Brazilian hotels deal for two Hilton properties. Private equity dealflow had its worst Q2 since 2020, with TMT seeing the biggest drop. Side Letter: TPAI notes SWFs leading AI investing and PE talent flowing into Spain.