Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 12, 2026, 8:40 PM ET

Mega-Funds & Strategic Investments

Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR have lined up behind NVIDIA in a $500bn move to make compute an asset class, PE Insights reports. Brookfield raised a record $77bn in Q2, led by private equity. Apollo Sports Capital invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises, supporting franchise growth and debt refinancing. KKR took a strategic stake in Crowe's advisory business. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, with its SPRING vehicle attracting nearly $1.7bn in subscriptions. HarbourVest eyes transformative AI and healthcare trends with its $4.75bn HCF VII co-investment fund, while also revealing deployment strategy for that flagship. CPP Investments committed $143m for a 49.5% interest in two Hilton hotels in Brazil, teaming with HSI.

Accel raised $800m for its ninth early-stage Europe fund. The firm also closed an oversubscribed $550M India fund within weeks, with over 55% of its previous $650M Indian vehicle still deployable. Scaleup Europe, a €5.7bn public-private fund, made its first investment by backing Finnish satellite company ICEYE.

Mega-Buyouts & Take-Privates

Apollo landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in a landmark European take-private. Bernhard Capital agreed to take Bowman Consulting private for $1bn, with a 35-day go-shop period. I Squared Capital agreed to acquire oOh!media at a 100% premium, valuing the out-of-home advertising operator at $733m enterprise. Thoma Bravo completed a $466m take-private of Irish validation software firm Kneat, delisting it from the TSX. Goldman Sachs is acquiring ETFs provider Neos Investments for $2.25bn; Neos manages $30bn in assets.

Private Credit & CLO Activity

CVC Credit priced Apidos LVIII, a $550m new-issue CLO, extending a busy year of issuance. Exponent closed an $867m (€750m) single-asset continuation vehicle for H&MV Engineering, tapping Apollo, Pantheon, and SQ Capital. Hollyport sold a passive 25% stake to Blue Owl while maintaining independence. US investors are raising questions over credit secondaries valuations, per a PEI Group webinar.

Buyouts & Acquisitions

TDR Capital is exploring an exit from Arrow Global, the British private credit manager taken private five years ago. Astorg completed a buyout of Thermo Fisher’s microbiology business. New Mountain is acquiring fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon. One Rock is selling environmental services firm Enviro Serve to Clean Harbors for $470m, expected to close in H2 2026. HIG Capital completed the acquisition of UK engineering firm Phoenix ME. Provectus Capital made its Romanian debut with a majority buyout of Seatbelt Consulting. Mountaingate exited healthcare commercialization platform Relevate, having partnered in 2020. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. Quad-C invested in occupational safety platform Paradigm, formed from combining Code Red Safety, Concept Controls, and Haz Tek. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance firm Pave Masters, with Northern Lakes Capital exiting. Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing acquired Coast to Coast Contracting for engineered fabric structures. Clearlake-backed Prime Source Brands acquired Starborn Industries. Vance Street-backed Keltec acquired AJF Filtration. Godspeed -backed BNP Group acquired cost management firm US Cost Incorporated from Schneider S.E. Lindsay Goldberg took a majority investment in metals distributor Alro Steel; the Glick family retains a significant stake. Reverence Capital-backed Sunstar acquired insurance agency RJR Faribo. Riverside-backed Western Botanicals invested in dietary supplement developer Yellow Emperor. Gridiron invested in life sciences back-office solutions provider van den Boom & Associates. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners. Baymark acquired healthy meal prep and delivery company Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity acquired a North Dakota orthodontic practice. Amberjack Capital closed a carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, with Apollo S3 as lead investor. PE-backed CHG Healthcare acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia. New Heritage invested in locomotive parts manufacturer Power Rail. Providence agreed to sell live entertainment business ATG, which operates 70 venues globally. Clearview-backed Capitol Services acquired corporate services provider Wolz.

Venture Capital & Startups

OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings raised $2bn at a $12bn valuation from SoftBank, D1, and Altimeter for enterprise AI. Index Ventures is in talks to lead a $500m round for a new AI lab from a Deep Mind researcher. Lovable raised $400m backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund at a $13.3bn valuation. Drone startup Uforce is targeting a $4bn+ valuation in a new raise. ClearJet raised a $25m Series B from Edison Partners to build the “Uber of Cargo.” Monashees, a leading Latin American VC, is opening a Silicon Valley office. Ex-LocalGlobe trio is plotting a new VC firm. DeepMind shakeup tests UK AI ambitions, with its future becoming critical for the UK. Nabla’s new CEO Brian Manning says he’s not here to be acquired.

Sector Trends & Market Data

Global unicorn creation surpassed 2025 totals in H1 2026, with 195 new unicorns. The biggest consequence of an AI IPO is the liquidity it returns to LPs, fueling a new venture fundraising cycle. Fitness startup funding is rebounding, reaching $3.6bn in H1 2026, but investors want AI and data, not treadmills. AI is a business change, not a technology layer, argues Bob Morse of Crunchbase. Solar energy is drawing private equity interest. Private equity plays in the growing European HVAC market are heating up. PE dealflow had its worst Q2 since 2020, with TMT seeing the biggest drop. VSS took a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation; a principal said AI cannot displace infrastructure. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti sees most mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries, detailing the opportunities further. Side Letter notes continuation fund activity outstrips traditional secondaries. Another edition covers SWFs leading AI investing and PE talent flowing to Spain. A third Side Letter covers valuations under SEC scrutiny and LA Fire and Police Pension’s mid-market strategy. LA Fire and Police Pension reaffirms conviction in lower mid-market and emerging managers, citing strong distributions. Ex-APG PE veteran John Renkema discusses how pensions can better assess performance using internal evaluations.

Secondaries & Fundraising

Hollyport maintains independence with a 25% stake sale to Blue Owl. Side Letter: Secondaries divergence says continuation fund activity surged. Korea’s Employment Insurance Fund seeks blind-pool PE/VC funds, committing 120bn Korean won. Plymouth County Retirement Association issued an RFP for a North American private equity manager.

Europe & Regional Focus

Entrepreneurial ecosystem draws dealmakers to the Spanish mid-market, with many family-owned firms approaching succession. South Summit 2026 highlighted three trends shaping European tech. 16 energy startups to watch in Europe are listed by investors. 17 physical AI startups to watch according to VCs. Underrated deeptech areas are spotlighted by First Momentum cofounder. Deeptech founders are dictating term sheets in 2026. Lessons from Ukraine on keeping up morale among tech workers.

Energy, Infrastructure & Sustainability

I Squared Capital take-private of oOh!media. Solar energy draws PE interest. VSS bets on infrastructure transformation. New Heritage invests in Power Rail. CPP Investments hotel deal in Brazil.