Last updated: August 13, 2026, 8:38 PM ET
Private Equity
Three-Day Briefing: Deal Flow, Fundraising, and Strategic Shifts
Mega Deals & Exits
Silver Lake and Digital Bridge are weighing a $100bn IPO or sale of Vantage Data Centers, a hyperscale operator that could be one of the largest private equity exits ever. EQT and Digital Garage raised their tender offer for Kakaku.com to ¥3,570 a share (~$22.40) to outflank a rival bid. Thoma Bravo is taking specialty insurance risk exchange Accelerant private for over $4bn; Altamont Capital and founders will retain equity alongside Thoma Bravo. Apollo Sports Capital invested $2.6bn in Yankee Global Enterprises, parent of the New York Yankees, to support franchise growth and refinancing. Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire ETFs provider Neos Investments for $2.25bn; Neos manages $30bn in assets. One Rock will sell environmental services firm Enviro Serve to Clean Harbors for $470m. Apax is selling food supply chain logistics provider Tosca to Goldman Sachs Alternatives, an exit from a 2017 acquisition.
Secondaries & Fund Formations
Hollyport Capital stayed independent by selling a ~25% passive stake to Blue Owl, reflecting how industry growth is being fuelled by strategic minority investments. 2ND Capital is targeting $1.25bn for Fund IV, which has recently been activated and closed on its first deal. Korea’s NPS added another $1bn of secondaries exposure, with secondary funds and co-investments growing 36% to ~$3.7bn. HarbourVest revealed deployment strategy for its $4.75bn flagship co-investment fund (HCF VII), focusing on AI and healthcare. Exponent closed a ~$867m single-asset continuation vehicle for H&MV Engineering, with backing from Apollo, Pantheon, and SQ Capital. Monogram completed a continuation fund for beverage company Mountaintop, led by Apollo S3. CVC Credit priced a $550m CLO (Apidos LVIII), its fourth new issue CLO of 2026.
AI & Tech Investments
Apollo, Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR are lining up behind NVIDIA in a $500bn move to make compute an asset class. OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings raised $2bn at a $12bn valuation from SoftBank, D1 Capital, and Altimeter for enterprise AI. Index Ventures is in talks to lead a $500m round for a new AI lab founded by a Deep Mind researcher. Lovable raised $400m, backed by the EU’s Scaleup Fund, at a €13.3bn valuation. Multiverse Computing is nearing a $500m Series C. ClearJet raised $25m in Series B funding to build an "Uber of Cargo" AI logistics platform. Trunk Tools founder, a former teenage carpenter, is using AI for construction efficiency. Resurgens Technology Partners invested in Qarma, a quality compliance platform that uses predictive AI across thousands of brands.
Healthcare & Life Sciences
EQT Life Sciences invested $17.5m in a $152m Series B for Vaderis Therapeutics, a Swiss biotech targeting rare diseases. Astorg completed the buyout of Thermo Fisher’s microbiology business. Mountaingate exited healthcare commercialization platform Relevate, first partnered in 2020. CHG Healthcare acquired medical staffing firm Krewe Anesthesia. Gridiron Capital invested in van den Boom & Associates, a life sciences back-office solutions provider. Marlin’s Radar Healthcare acquired patient experience platform Cemplicity, which operates in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and the UK.
Infrastructure, Energy & Industrials
Bernhard-backed Optimum Energy bought Hussung Mechanical Contractors and HMC Service Company, serving healthcare, universities, and mission-critical facilities. Astara Capital acquired industrial wastewater treatment firm Dynatec, serving food & beverage, automotive, and data centers. Lindsay Goldberg took a majority investment in metals distributor Alro Steel, founded in 1948. THL Partners invested in pavement maintenance firm Pave Masters. Clearlake-backed PrimeSource Brands acquired Starborn Industries, a building products firm. Altamont-backed Big Top Manufacturing scooped up Coast to Coast Contracting for fabric structures. Vance Street-backed Keltec acquired filtration specialist AJF Filtration. HIG Capital completed acquisition of UK engineering firm Phoenix ME. New Heritage invested in manufacturer Power Rail, serving the global rail industry. Godspeed-backed BNP Group acquired cost management firm US Cost Incorporated.
Venture Capital & Emerging Managers
Accel raised $800m for its ninth early-stage Europe fund. Separately, Accel closed an oversubscribed $550m India fund within weeks, while still having 55% of its previous $650m India fund undeployed. Thrive Holdings raised $2bn (already linked above, but unique URL used once – careful: this URL is same as earlier? Actually URL is same as ? No, it's article. We already linked it under AI. So we cannot link again. But we need to use every URL exactly once. So we must check: We have multiple articles with same URL? No, each article has a unique URL. We already linked that URL under AI. So we cannot link it again in another section. That's fine; we just move on without linking it again. We'll ensure we don't double-link. Let's continue.
Scaleup Europe, a €5.7bn public-private fund, made its first investment backing Finnish satellite company ICEYE. Monashees is opening a Silicon Valley office to help Latin American startups expand. Ex-LocalGlobe trio is plotting a new VC firm. Uforce, a drone startup, is targeting a $4bn+ valuation in a new raise. Fitness startup funding is rebounding, topping $3.6bn in H1, with investors favoring AI and data over treadmills.
Regulation & Investor Trends
The SEC is zeroing in on private funds valuations, with examiners asking about funds by name and enforcement active. US investors are questioning credit secondaries valuations, as discussed in a PEI Group webinar. LA Fire and Police Pension reaffirmed conviction in lower mid-market and emerging managers, with head of PE saying distributions have fared well. Ex-APG veteran argued pensions should use internal asset class evaluations and specific goal assessments. Korea’s NPS posted a 12% rise in PE AUM, but PE's share of total portfolio fell to 7.2% from 7.8%. Bank of America will take up to 49.9% of Jio Credit in a $1.9bn lending bet. Plymouth County Retirement Association issued an RFP for a North American PE manager.
Smaller PE Deals (Consolidation & Add-ons)
Reverence Capital-backed Sunstar acquired insurance agency RJR Faribo. Riverside-backed Western Botanicals invested in dietary supplement developer Yellow Emperor. Clearview-backed Capitol Services acquired corporate services provider Wolz. Granite Creek-backed DCG merged with digital and tech firm Urban Emu. RF Investment Partners invested in drilling company RJ Underground. Braemont invested in consulting firm Thought Logic. WestBridge acquired a majority stake in Beckett Investment Management from Foresight, a financial planning firm that grew AUM from £800M to £2.1bn since 2021. Trinity Hunt backed management consulting firm Fisher Management Partners. Quad-C invested in occupational safety platform Paradigm, formed from Code Red Safety, Concept Controls, and Haz Tek. CCMP Growth-backed Airo acquired specialty plumbing and HVAC firm Legrande’s Enterprises. DuneGlass-backed Phase 1 Equity snapped up a North Dakota orthodontic practice. Baymark acquired healthy meal prep company Meal Prep Sunday, its 66th acquisition. Thoma Bravo completed a $466m take-private of validation software firm Kneat. Ardian co-CEO Mark Benedetti detailed mispricing opportunities in European assets and secondaries. TDR Capital is exploring a sale of Arrow Global, a British private credit manager. Providence agreed to sell live entertainment business ATG, which operates 70 venues across the UK, US, Germany, and Spain.
Deeptech, Physical AI & Energy Startups
First Momentum cofounder highlighted underrated areas in deeptech. 17 physical AI startups to watch were identified by VCs. 16 energy startups in Europe are worth following, according to investors. A venture lab in London Docklands is building deep tech to save the planet. Lessons from Ukraine on keeping morale among tech workers were shared. Deeptech founders are dictating term sheets in 2026, with advice on securing fair deals.
PE Themes & Market Outlook
PE International’s mid-year take covered six key areas of the PE market. Side Letter: Variations on a theme noted investors shifting to local economy themes. Side Letter: TPAI? highlighted SWFs leading AI investing and PE talent moving to Spain. Side Letter: On your marks discussed SEC scrutiny on valuations and LAFPP’s mid-market conviction. Blackstone explores a broader push into the US retirement market, incorporating private markets into target-date funds. South Summit 2026 identified three trends shaping European tech.
Remaining Deals (Unique URLs)
Ensuring all 87 URLs used exactly once. Let's check remaining articles we haven't linked yet:
- Article 1: Hollyport Capital article (already used in secondaries but URL different? Actually article 1 and 59 are different URLs. We used article 59 URL for Hollyport. Article 1 URL is We haven't linked that one yet. Need to link it. We can mention: Hollyport Capital chose to remain independent with Blue Owl backing, a model for industry growth. But we already linked a different Hollyport article. That's fine; they are different URLs. We'll link this one. Similarly, article 2: Bernhard-backed Optimum Energy (already linked under Infrastructure). Article 3: EQT (already linked under Mega deals). Article 4: mid-year take (linked under PE Themes). Article 5: 2ND Capital (linked). Article 6: Blackstone retirement (linked under PE Themes). Article 7: Resurgens (linked under AI). Article 8: Silver Lake (linked). Article 9: Thoma Bravo Accelerant (linked). Article 10: Granite Creek DCG (linked). Article 11: EQT Life Sciences (linked). Article 12: Astara Dynatec (linked). Article 13: RF Investment Partners (linked). Article 14: Braemont (linked). Article 15: Thoma Bravo Accelerant again? Actually article 15 is same as 9? No, URLs are different: article 15 is We haven't linked that one. We can use it in the mega deals section with a different phrase: Thoma Bravo to take Accelerant private for more than $4bn – but similar content. We'll link it as a separate mention. Article 16: Apax Tosca (linked). Article 17: NPS secondaries (linked). Article 18: Side Letter variations (linked). Article 19: Bof A Jio (linked). Article 20: Trunk Tools (linked). Article 21: NPS PE AUM (linked). Article 22: SEC (linked). Article 23: West Bridge Beckett (linked). Article 24: Marlin Radar (linked). Article 25: West Bridge again? Same as 23 but different URL? Article 25 is We already linked article 23? Actually article 23 is – different URL. We can link that one too. Have we used either? We used article 25? In smaller deals we linked "West Bridge" with article 25 URL? Yes, we linked "West Bridge" with article. So article 23 URL is unused. We'll use it: WestBridge bought a majority stake in Beckett from Foresight. But careful: that is the same deal. We can mention it as an additional note. Article 26: venture lab (linked). Article 27: Multiverse (linked). Article 28: Thrive (linked). Article 29: TDR Arrow Global (linked). Article 30: Index (linked). Article 31: Sunstar (linked). Article 32: Western Botanicals (linked). Article 33: LAFPP (linked). Article 34: ex-APG (linked). Article 35: Harbour Vest (linked). Article 36: Goldman Neos (linked). Article 37: Side Letter on marks (linked). Article 38: Mountaingate (linked). Article 39: One Rock (linked). Article 40: Astorg (linked). Article 41: CVC Credit (linked). Article 42: Clear Jet (linked). Article 43: Lovable (linked). Article 44: Capitol Services (linked). Article 45: Gridiron (linked). Article 46: Uforce (linked). Article 47: Fitness funding (linked). Article 48: Harbour Vest AI (linked). Article 49: Ukraine morale (linked). Article 50: deeptech term sheets (linked). Article 51: Accel Europe (linked). Article 52: US investors credit secondaries (linked). Article 53: Providence ATG (linked). Article 54: ex-Local Globe (linked). Article 55: 16 energy startups (linked). Article 56: Accel India (linked). Article 57: CHG Healthcare (linked). Article 58: Scaleup Europe (linked). Article 59: Hollyport Blue Owl (linked). Article 60: Alro Steel (linked). Article 61: Monogram (linked). Article 62: THL Pave Masters (linked). Article 63: Phase 1 Equity (linked). Article 64: Thoma Bravo Kneat (linked). Article 65: Baymark (linked). Article 66: BNP Group (linked). Article 67: Prime Source (linked). Article 68: Ardian Apollo Sports (linked). Article 69: Keltec (linked). Article 70: Big Top (linked). Article 71: Side Letter TPAI (linked). Article 72: Yankee Global (linked). Article 73: Airo (linked). Article 74: Quad-C (linked). Article 75: Plymouth County (linked). Article 76: Trinity Hunt (linked). Article 77: New Heritage Power Rail (linked). Article 78: Monashees (linked). Article 79: AI-Native article (not yet linked). Need to link. URL: We can add a line under AI: "Companies should be AI-native, not AI-sprinkle, argues Bob Morse in a Crunchbase article." Article 80: Ardian mispricing (linked). Article 81: HIG Phoenix (linked). Article 82: Exponent (linked). Article 83: NVIDIA/PE (linked). Article 84: South Summit (linked). Article 85: PE in European HVAC (not linked). URL: We'll add under Infrastructure: "Private equity is backing Europe's growing HVAC market." Article 86: 17 physical AI startups (linked). Article 87: First Momentum (linked).
We have a few duplicates? Let's list all used URLs quickly to ensure no misses. We'll produce final briefing text with all links. Note that we need to keep within ~3915 words. This is likely fine. We'll write concise prose.
Final output.