Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 12, 2026, 11:46 AM ET

Mega-Deals & Large Transactions

Private equity firms executed a flurry of billion-dollar transactions this week. Providence Equity Partners agreed to sell ATG Entertainment, operator of 70 venues across the UK, US, Germany and Spain, to Ari Emanuel’s MARI in a reported $6bn deal. Apollo Sports Capital invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises, parent of the New York Yankees, to support franchise growth and refinancing. In the travel sector, Blackstone and La Caisse led a roughly $1.8bn (C$2.5bn) investment for a 25% stake in Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty program, valuing the business at about $7.2bn. Bernhard Capital moved to take-private Bowman Consulting Group for $1bn, including a 35-day “go-shop” period. Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire Neos Investments, an options-based income ETF provider managing $30bn in assets, for $2.25bn. I Squared Capital agreed a $733m take-private of Australian out-of-home advertising operator oOh!media at a 100% premium. CPP Investments teamed up with HSI to acquire a 49.5% interest in two landmark Hilton hotels in Brazil for about $143m.

Fundraising & Capital Formation

Fundraising activity remained robust across strategies. Brookfield Asset Management raised a record $77bn in Q2 alone, led by private equity, infrastructure and credit. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, with its venture and growth-focused SPRING vehicle attracting nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions in the quarter. Accel closed two funds simultaneously: $800m for its ninth early-stage Europe fund and an oversubscribed $550m India fund within weeks, despite having over 55% of its prior $650m India fund still available. HarbourVest detailed deployment strategy for its $4.75bn seventh flagship co-investment fund, targeting transformative trends in AI and healthcare. Lovable raised $400m backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund. A trio of ex-Local Globe partners is plotting a new VC firm. Scaleup Europe, a $5.7bn public-private fund, made its first investment by backing Finnish satellite company ICEYE.

AI & Technology Investments

A transformative shift in compute infrastructure is under way. Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR lined up behind NVIDIA in a $500bn move to make compute an asset class. Thoma Bravo completed the $466m take-private of Irish validation software firm Kneat, delisting it from the Toronto Stock Exchange. ClearJet, an AI-enabled logistics startup connecting shippers with unused cargo capacity, raised a $25m Series B led by Edison Partners. Drone startup Uforce is targeting a $4bn+ valuation in a new raise. DeepMind’s shakeup tests the UK’s AI ambitions, with its future becoming critical for the UK tech sector. Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning declared he is not here to be acquired. Deeptech founders are dictating term sheets in 2026. The most underrated areas in deeptech were highlighted by First Momentum’s cofounder. VCs pointed to 17 physical AI startups to watch. Monashees, one of Latin America’s oldest VC firms, opened a San Francisco office, crossing into Silicon Valley. The biggest consequence of an AI IPO is not the IPO itself but what happens afterward, as liquidity could fuel a new venture cycle. The concept of being AI-native, not AI-sprinkle, argues that AI is a business change, not a technology change.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Healthcare continued to attract significant PE activity. Astorg completed the buyout of Thermo Fisher’s microbiology business. Mountaingate exited Relevate, a healthcare commercialization platform it first partnered with in 2020. PE-backed CHG Healthcare acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia. Gridiron Capital invested in van den Boom & Associates, a life sciences back-office solutions provider offering finance, accounting, HR and IT managed services. New Mountain agreed to acquire fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity acquired a North Dakota orthodontic practice. Provectus Capital made its Romanian debut with the buyout of Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety provider. The medical education gap presents an opportunity for private equity as healthcare workforce needs grow.

Energy & Infrastructure

Energy transition and infrastructure deals proliferated. One Rock agreed to sell environmental services firm Enviro Serve to Clean Harbors for $470m, closing in H2 2026. Solar energy is drawing private equity interest. Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing scooped up Coast to Coast Contracting. Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group, including facilities in Texas and Sweden. In the UK, HIG Capital completed the acquisition of engineering firm Phoenix ME. VSS closed a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation driven by AI as a net positive. 16 energy startups to watch were highlighted by European investors.

Secondary & Continuation Vehicles

Secondary markets saw a wave of complex vehicles. Exponent closed a single-asset continuation vehicle of about $867m (€750m) to hold H&MV Engineering, with support from Apollo, Pantheon and SQ Capital. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, with Apollo S3 as lead investor. Hollyport Partners maintained independence by selling a passive 25% economic stake to Blue Owl. US investors are raising questions over credit secondaries valuations. A side letter on secondaries divergence noted continuation fund activity outstripping traditional secondaries.

Credit Markets & CLOs

In credit markets, CVC Credit priced Apidos LVIII, a new $550m collateralised loan obligation, its fourth new issue CLO of 2026. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti detailed mispricing opportunities, particularly in European assets and secondaries, noting more European families seeking partners to navigate the environment.

Sector-Specific Add-Ons

A wave of add-on acquisitions swept various sectors. Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands acquired Starborn Industries, a specialty building products provider. Vance Street-backed Keltec snapped up AJF Filtration. Godspeed-backed BNP Group acquired cost management firm US Cost Incorporated from Schneider SE. Baymark acquired healthy meal prep and delivery company Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. Quad-C invested in occupational safety and health platform Paradigm, formed from Code Red Safety, Concept Controls and Haz Tek. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners. New Heritage invested in manufacturer Power Rail, a maker of aftermarket locomotive parts. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance services firm Pave Masters, with Northern Lakes Capital selling its stake. Lindsay Goldberg took a majority investment in metals distributor Alro Steel, founded in 1948, with the Glick family retaining a significant ownership stake. Clearview-backed Capitol Services acquired corporate services provider Wolz. Fitness startup funding is rebounding, but investors want AI and data, not treadmills; startup investment in the category exceeded $3.6bn in H1 2026.

Regional Focus: Europe & Lat Am

European PE activity remained strong. Private equity is playing in the growing European HVAC market. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is drawing dealmakers to the Spanish mid-market, with many family-owned Iberian companies approaching succession decisions. South Summit 2026 revealed three trends shaping European tech. Lessons from Ukraine on keeping up morale among tech workers were shared.

Investor Intentions & LP Activity

Limited partners continued to allocate. Plymouth County Retirement Association issued an RFP for a North American private equity manager. Korea’s Employment Insurance Fund seeks to commit 120bn Korean won to blind-pool PE/VC funds for 2026. Global new unicorn counts in H1 2026 have already surpassed 2025 totals, with 195 companies joining the board. Private equity dealflow had its worst Q2 since 2020, with the TMT sector seeing the biggest drop.

Notable Minority & Strategic Stakes

KKR closed a strategic equity investment in Crowe Advisory, the tax and advisory arm of Crowe. A side letter on SWFs noted that sovereign wealth funds are leading the AI investing charge, and PE talent is raining down on Spain. Another side letter flagged that valuations are under scrutiny by the SEC, while LAFPP makes the case for mid-market and emerging managers. Top private equity news of the week included Apollo’s landmark take-private of easyJet with a £5.7bn recommended offer.