Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 13, 2026, 2:39 AM ET

Private Equity Market Pulse

Global private equity dealflow slumped to its worst Q2 since 2020, with the TMT sector hit hardest. Yet major transactions continue reshaping the landscape: Brookfield Asset Management raised a record $77bn in Q2 across private equity, infrastructure and credit. StepStone surpassed $20bn in private wealth AUM, with its SPRING vehicle attracting nearly $1.7bn in quarterly subscriptions. The global unicorn count in H1 2026 has already surpassed 2025’s full-year total, with 195 new unicorns minted.

Mega Deals & Take-Privates

Apollo Global Management landed a £5.7bn recommended offer for easy Jet in what would be a landmark European take-private. Bernhard Capital agreed to take Bowman Consulting private for $1bn, including a 35-day go-shop period. I Squared Capital reached a $733m take-private of Australian out-of-home advertising operator oOh!media at a 100% premium. Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire ETF provider Neos Investments for $2.25bn; Neos manages $30bn in assets across 19 options-based income ETFs. KKR took a strategic equity stake in Crowe Advisory, the tax and advisory arm of global accounting firm Crowe. Apollo Sports Capital invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises, parent of the New York Yankees, to support franchise growth and debt refinancing. CPP Investments committed $143m for a 49.5% stake in two landmark Hilton hotels in Brazil, partnering with HSI.

Fundraising & Capital Raising

Thrive Holdings, backed by OpenAI, raised $2bn at a $12bn valuation from SoftBank, D1 Capital and Altimeter. Lovable raised $400m backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund at a $13.3bn valuation. Scaleup Europe, a public-private fund targeting $5.7bn, made its first investment in Finnish satellite company ICEYE. Accel closed its ninth early-stage Europe fund at $800m, and separately closed an oversubscribed $550m India fund within weeks, with over 55% of its previous $650m India fund still available. CVC Credit priced Apidos LVIII, a $550m collateralised loan obligation, extending a busy year of CLO issuance. Monashees, one of Latin America’s oldest VC firms, opened a San Francisco office to help its portfolio expand into Silicon Valley.

AI, Tech & Venture Capital

Index Ventures is in talks to lead a $500m round for a new AI lab founded by a Deep Mind researcher. Multiverse Computing, a Spanish quantum AI startup, is nearing a $500m Series C to become Europe’s next AI champion. ClearJet raised $25m in a Series B led by Edison Partners to build the 'Uber of Cargo' using AI logistics. Drone startup Uforce is targeting a $4bn+ valuation in a new funding round. Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR have lined up behind NVIDIA in a $500bn initiative to make compute an asset class. Deeptech founders are dictating term sheets in 2026, and a London venture lab is building deeptechs to save the planet. Ex-Local Globe partners are plotting a new VC firm. The broader lesson: AI is a business change, not a technology change, argues Bob Morse. A wave of AI IPOs could return significant liquidity to LPs, fueling a new venture fundraising cycle.

Secondaries & Continuation Funds

Exponent closed a single-asset continuation vehicle of ~$867m (€750m) for H&MV Engineering, with Apollo, Pantheon and SQ Capital as investors. HarbourVest revealed deployment strategy for its $4.75bn flagship co-investment fund HCF VII, targeting transformative trends in AI and healthcare. Hollyport Capital sold a ~25% passive stake to Blue Owl while maintaining its independence. TDR Capital is exploring a sale of Arrow Global, the British private credit manager it took private five years ago. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti said most mispricing opportunities are in European assets and secondaries. Meanwhile, US investors have raised questions over credit secondaries valuations.

Industrials, Energy & Building Products

One Rock Capital is selling environmental services firm Enviro Serve to Clean Harbors for $470m. Alro Steel landed a majority investment from Lindsay Goldberg, with the founding Glick family retaining a significant stake. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance firm Pave Masters, with Northern Lakes Capital exiting. HIG Capital completed the acquisition of UK engineering firm Phoenix ME, which serves blue-chip clients. New Mountain Capital is acquiring fire safety provider Jensen Hughes from Gryphon. Quad-C invested in occupational safety platform Paradigm, formed from a combination of Code Red Safety, Concept Controls and Haz Tek. Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PMV Automation group, including facilities in Houston and Sweden. Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands acquired Starborn Industries, a provider of branded building products. Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing scooped up Coast to Coast Contracting. Vance Street-backed Keltec snapped up AJF Filtration. New Heritage invested in locomotive parts maker Power Rail.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Astorg completed the buyout of Thermo Fisher’s microbiology business. CHG Healthcare, backed by private equity, acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia. Mountaingate exited its healthcare commercialization platform Relevate. Gridiron Capital invested in van den Boom & Associates, a life sciences back-office solutions provider. Riverside-backed Western Botanicals invested in dietary supplement developer Yellow Emperor. Thoma Bravo completed the $466m take-private of Irish validation software firm Kneat, delisted from the TSX.

LP Views & Institutional Strategies

The $38bn LA Fire and Police Pension reaffirmed its conviction in lower mid-market and emerging managers, with its head of PE noting the portfolio’s distributions have fared well. Former APG PE veteran John Renkema argues that internal asset class evaluations and specific goal assessments are key when assessing pension performance. 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 in 2026. Side Letter from PE International notes valuations are under scrutiny on multiple fronts, while continuation fund activity outstrips traditional secondaries. Another Side Letter highlights the divergence.

European & International PE

Provectus Capital Partners made its Romanian debut by acquiring a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, the country’s largest occupational health and safety provider. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti detailed mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries, noting more European families seek partners for international expansion. Private equity is playing in Europe’s growing HVAC market, with deals in both consumer brands and manufacturing in the beverage sector. VSS closed a minority stake in Cordoba, betting on infrastructure transformation and viewing AI as a net positive for infrastructure demand. Scaleup Europe made its first investment in ICEYE, and South Summit 2026 highlighted three trends shaping European tech. Lessons from Ukraine on keeping tech worker morale are also informing PE-backed companies.

Sector Snapshots & Add-on Deals

Baymark acquired healthy meal prep company Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. Godspeed-backed BNP Group acquired cost management firm US Cost Incorporated from Schneider S.E. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity snapped up a North Dakota orthodontic practice. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. Clearview-backed Capitol Services acquired corporate services provider Wolz. Reverence Capital-backed Sunstar picked up insurance agency RJR Faribo. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, with Apollo S3 as lead investor.

Energy, Climate & Emerging Technologies

Solar energy is drawing private equity interest, as Providence agreed to sell live entertainment business ATG to Mari. 16 European energy startups are worth watching, according to investors. First Momentum’s cofounder highlighted the most underrated areas in deeptech. 17 physical AI startups are being watched by VCs globally. The under-the-radar venture lab in London Docklands is building deeptechs to save the planet.