Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 12, 2026, 2:42 PM ET

Fundraising and LP Activity

Brookfield raised a record $77bn in the second quarter, led by its private equity, infrastructure, and credit franchises. Accel collected $800m for its ninth early-stage Europe fund and also closed an oversubscribed $550m India fund within weeks, despite still holding over 55% of its previous $650m vehicle. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, with its venture and growth-focused SPRING vehicle attracting nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions last quarter. Thrive Holdings, backed by OpenAI, raised $2bn at a $12bn valuation from SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners, and Alitmeter Capital to bring AI to the enterprise. HarbourVest outlined deployment plans for its $4.75bn flagship co-investment fund, targeting AI and healthcare innovation, while Scaleup Europe, a public-private fund with a $5.7bn target, made its first investment by backing Finnish satellite company ICEYE.

Plymouth County Retirement Association issued an RFP for a North American private equity manager, and Korea’s Employment Insurance Fund seeks to commit 120bn won to blind-pool PE/VC funds for 2026. Blue Owl acquired a passive 25% stake in tail-end specialist Hollyport, which will remain independent. Global unicorn counts in the first half of 2026 surpassed 2025 totals, with 195 new unicorns minted.

Technology and AI Investments

Index Ventures is in talks to lead a $500m round for a new AI lab founded by a DeepMind researcher. Lovable raised $400m at a $13.3bn valuation backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund. Drone startup Uforce is targeting a $4bn valuation in a new raise. ClearJet, an AI-enabled logistics startup, raised a $25m Edison Partners-led Series B to build the “Uber of Cargo.” Monashees, a leading Latin American VC, is crossing into Silicon Valley with a San Francisco office. A trio of ex-LocalGlobe partners is plotting a new VC firm.

Deeptech founders are dictating term sheets in 2026, with advice on securing fair deals. First Momentum cofounder highlights the most underrated areas in deeptech. 17 physical AI startups to watch have been identified by VCs. An AI IPO wave would return significant liquidity to LPs and fuel a new venture fundraising cycle. Fitness startup funding is rebounding, with investors wanting AI and data over treadmills; the sector raised over $3.6bn in H1 2026. Venture investment in AI is increasingly about business change, not just technology, argues Bob Morse. South Summit 2026 identified three key trends shaping European tech. 16 energy startups to watch in Europe were highlighted by investors. Tech workers in Ukraine share lessons on keeping up morale amid war. The DeepMind shakeup tests the UK’s AI ambitions, and its future is critical for the country. Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning says he is not here to be acquired.

Healthcare and Life Sciences

Astorg completed the buyout of Thermo Fisher’s microbiology business. Mountaingate exited healthcare commercialization platform Relevate, which it first backed in 2020. Gridiron invested in life sciences back-office solutions provider van den Boom & Associates. CHG Healthcare, backed by private equity, acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia. Phase 1 Equity, backed by Dune Glass, acquired a North Dakota orthodontic practice. Quad-C invested in occupational safety and health platform Paradigm, formed from the combination of Code Red Safety, Concept Controls, and Haz Tek. Riverside backed Western Botanicals’ investment in dietary supplement developer Yellow Emperor. Thoma Bravo completed the $466m take-private of validation software firm Kneat, which delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Industrials and Infrastructure

HIG Capital completed the acquisition of UK engineering firm Phoenix ME. Exponent closed an $867m continuation vehicle for H&MV Engineering, with Apollo, Pantheon, and SQ Capital as backers. New Mountain will acquire fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon. One Rock sold environmental services firm Enviro Serve to Clean Harbors for $470m. Alro Steel received a majority investment from Lindsay Goldberg; the founding Glick family retains a stake. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance firm Pave Masters, with Northern Lakes Capital exiting. Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group. Altamont backed Big Top Manufacturing’s acquisition of Coast to Coast Contracting.

Vance Street backed Keltec’s acquisition of AJF Filtration. Clearlake backed Prime Source Brands’ acquisition of Starborn Industries. Godspeed backed BNP Group’s acquisition of cost management firm US Cost Incorporated from Schneider S.E. New Heritage invested in Power Rail, a manufacturer of aftermarket locomotive parts. CCMP Growth backed Airo’s acquisition of specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. Private equity is increasingly active in the growing European HVAC market. I Squared Capital agreed a $733m take-private of oOh!media at a 100% premium. CPP Investments committed $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. Solar energy is drawing private equity interest, while Providence agreed to sell live entertainment business ATG to Mari. Provectus Capital made its Romanian debut with the buy-out of Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety provider.

Credit, Secondaries, and Take-Privates

CVC Credit priced Apidos LVIII, a new $550m CLO, extending a busy issuance year. TDR Capital is exploring a sale of British private credit manager Arrow Global. US investors questioned credit secondaries valuations during a PEI webinar. Valuations are facing scrutiny on multiple fronts. Continuation fund activity is outstripping traditional secondaries. Ardian’s co-CEO Mark Benedetti sees most mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries, with more families seeking international expansion partners. Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire ETFs provider Neos Investments for $2.25bn; Neos manages $30bn across 19 options-based income ETFs. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, with Apollo S3 as lead investor. KKR took a strategic stake in Crowe’s advisory business. Apollo Sports Capital invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises, parent of the New York Yankees. Bernhard Capital will take-private Bowman Consulting Group for $1bn, with a 35-day go-shop period. Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR lined up behind NVIDIA in a $500bn move to make compute an asset class.

Consumer and Business Services

Sunstar, backed by Reverence Capital, acquired insurance agency RJR Faribo. Capitol Services, backed by Clearview, acquired corporate services provider Wolz. Baymark acquired healthy meal prep and delivery company Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti detailed mispricing opportunities across these sectors. Top private equity news includes Apollo’s £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in a landmark European take-private.

Market Conditions and Regional Trends

Private equity dealflow recorded its worst Q2 since 2020, with the TMT sector experiencing the steepest decline. The LA Fire and Police Pension reaffirmed its conviction in lower mid-market and emerging managers, saying distributions have fared well in a difficult period. John Renkema, ex-APG PE veteran, advises pensions to use internal asset class evaluations for better performance assessment. The Spanish mid-market is attracting dealmakers due to family-owned companies approaching succession. SWFs are leading AI investing, PE talent is flowing into Spain, and big deals are boosting African deal data.