Private Equity 3 Days

Last updated: August 13, 2026, 2:45 PM ET

Private Equity

Mega-Deals and Major M&A

EQT and Digital Garage raised their tender offer for Kakaku.com to ¥3,570 a share, about $22.40, topping a competing proposal. Silver Lake and DigitalBridge are weighing an exit from Vantage Data Centers that could value the hyperscale operator at about $100bn, via either a stock market listing or a sale. Thoma Bravo is taking specialty insurance risk exchange platform Accelerant private for more than $4bn, with Altamont Capital Partners retaining an equity stake. The firm also completed its $466m take-private of validation software firm Kneat. Apollo Sports Capital invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises to support franchise growth and refinance debt. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire ETF provider Neos Investments for $2.25bn. In the energy transition space, One Rock is selling environmental services firm Enviro Serve to Clean Harbors for $470m. Astorg closed the buyout of Thermo Fisher’s microbiology business. HIG Capital acquired UK engineering firm Phoenix ME. On the credit side, CVC Credit priced Apidos LVIII, a new $550m CLO. Bank of America will invest up to $1.9bn for a 49.9% stake in Jio Credit, Reliance's lending arm.

Fundraising and Capital Formation

Accel raised $800m for its ninth early-stage Europe fund, and separately closed an oversubscribed $550m India fund within weeks. Lovable raised $400m backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund. OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings raised $2bn at a $12bn valuation from SoftBank, D1 Capital, and Altimeter. ClearJet raised a $25m Series B from Edison Partners to build the “Uber of Cargo.” Drone startup Uforce is targeting upwards of a $4bn valuation in a new round. Index Ventures is in talks to lead a $500m round for a Deep Mind researcher’s new AI lab. 2ND Capital eyes a Q4/Q1 close on its Fund IV, targeting $1.25bn. HarbourVest outlined deployment strategy for its $4.75bn HCF VII co-investment fund focusing on AI and healthcare.

Secondaries and Tail-End Strategies

Korea’s NPS added another $1bn of secondaries exposure, with its secondary funds growing 36% to $3.7bn. Hollyport maintained independence by selling a 25% passive stake to Blue Owl. Exponent closed a single-asset continuation vehicle of about $867m for H&MV Engineering, with Apollo, Pantheon, and SQ Capital backing it. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, led by Apollo S3. US investors raised questions over credit secondaries valuations during a PEI Group webinar.

Regulation and Market Dynamics

The SEC is zeroing in on private funds valuations, with examiners asking about funds by name. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti highlighted most mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries. Blackstone is exploring a broader push into the US retirement market via target-date funds. A mid-year take on six key private equity market topics shows how areas have developed. PE dealmaking slumped again, while LPs shift to local economy themes. TDR Capital explores an Arrow Global exit as private credit deals heat up.

Sector Spotlights: AI, Technology, and Healthcare

Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR are lining up behind NVIDIA in a potential $500bn move to make compute an asset class. Resurgens Technology Partners invested in quality compliance platform Qarma. EQT Life Sciences joined a $152m Series B for Swiss biotech Vaderis. Trunk Tools founder Sarah Buchner, a former carpenter, is building an AI startup for construction. Multiverse Computing is the Spanish startup vying to be Europe's next AI champion. A venture lab in London Docklands is building deeptechs to save the planet. Gridiron Capital invested in life sciences back-office solutions provider van den Boom & Associates. Marlin's Radar Healthcare acquired patient experience platform Cemplicity. CHG Healthcare acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia.

Sector Spotlights: Energy, Industrial, and Beverages

Solar energy is drawing private equity interest. Astara Capital snapped up industrial wastewater treatment firm Dynatec. Lindsay Goldberg made a majority investment in metals distributor Alro Steel. Quad-C invested in occupational safety platform Paradigm. New Heritage invested in manufacturer Power Rail. In beverages, PE firms are active in both consumer brands and manufacturing. Apax sold food supply chain logistics provider Tosca to Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Western Botanicals invested in supplement developer Yellow Emperor. European HVAC market is seeing PE backing.

Lower Mid-Market and Add-On Deals

LA Fire and Police Pension reaffirmed conviction in lower mid-market and emerging managers. RF Investment Partners invested in drilling company RJ Underground. Braemont invested in consulting firm Thought Logic. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners. Godspeed-backed BNP Group acquired cost management firm US Cost Incorporated. Baymark acquired healthy meal prep company Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands acquired Starborn Industries. Vance Street-backed Keltec acquired AJF Filtration. Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing scooped up Coast to Coast Contracting. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance firm Pave Masters. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity acquired a North Dakota orthodontic practice. Reverence Capital-backed Sunstar picked up insurance agency RJR Faribo. Clearview-backed Capitol Services acquired corporate services provider Wolz. Amberjack Capital closed the carve-out of Flowserve’s PNV Automation group. Mountaingate exited healthcare commercialization platform Relevate.

Venture Capital and Startup Ecosystem

Monashees, a leading Latin American VC, opened a San Francisco office to expand into Silicon Valley. Ex-LocalGlobe trio is plotting a new VC firm. A Crunchbase analysis argues AI is a business change, not just a technology layer. Fitness startup funding is rebounding, with investors favoring AI and data over treadmills. Scaleup Europe, a $5.7B public-private fund, made its first investment in satellite company ICEYE. 16 energy startups to watch in Europe were highlighted by investors. 17 physical AI startups are on VCs’ radars. Deeptech founders are increasingly dictating term sheets. First Momentum cofounder revealed the most underrated areas in deeptech. South Summit 2026 identified three trends shaping European tech. Lessons from Ukraine on keeping tech worker morale amid war.

Global LP Trends and Pension Updates

Korea’s NPS posted a 12% rise in PE AUM, though PE’s portfolio share fell to 7.2%. Ex-APG PE veteran John Renkema argued pensions should use internal asset class evaluations to assess performance. Plymouth County Retirement Association issued an RFP for a North American PE manager. Side Letter notes valuations face scrutiny from the SEC and LPs. SWFs are leading AI investing, while PE talent rains on Spain. WestBridge acquired a majority stake in Beckett Investment Management from Foresight Group.

Notable Exits and Divestitures

Providence agreed to sell live entertainment business ATG to Mari. Granite Creek-backed DCG merged with digital and tech firm Urban Emu. Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, KKR align behind NVIDIA for compute-as-asset-class. Yankee Global Enterprises inks $2.6bn from Apollo. TDR explores Arrow Global exit. Astorg completes Thermo Fisher microbiology buyout.