Last updated: August 15, 2026, 8:47 PM ET
Private Equity
Private equity activity remains robust despite macroeconomic headwinds, with several major transactions and fundraising efforts capturing market attention over the past three days.
Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire Accelerant Holdings, a specialty insurance risk exchange platform, for more than $4 billion, marking one of the largest take-private deals in the insurance technology sector this year. The transaction underscores continued investor appetite for niche financial infrastructure assets, even as public market valuations face pressure from persistent inflation concerns and geopolitical uncertainty.
In related news, EQT and Digital Garage have increased their tender offer for Japanese e-commerce platform Kakaku.com to ¥3,570 per share, approximately $22.40, surpassing a competing bid from another consortium. This escalation highlights the strategic importance of data-driven consumer platforms in Asia-Pacific markets, where digital transformation continues to drive premium valuations despite broader economic volatility.
EQT Life Sciences has joined a $152 million Series B funding round for Vaderis Therapeutics, a Swiss biotech company, contributing $17.5 million to support rare-disease clinical trials. The investment reflects growing interest among specialized private equity funds in high-risk, high-reward therapeutic areas, particularly those addressing unmet medical needs with strong regulatory pathways and potential for orphan drug designation.
Providence Equity has finalized its acquisition of Hometrack, a UK-based property valuation data and analytics firm, for an undisclosed sum estimated between $800 million and $1 billion. The deal signals increased consolidation in the fintech data space, as private equity firms seek to capitalize on rising demand for automated valuation models amid tightening mortgage lending standards across Europe and Australia.
Silver Lake is reportedly in advanced discussions to take enterprise software giant Workday private in a transaction that could value the company at over $50 billion, potentially ranking among the largest leveraged buyouts in tech history. While details remain fluid, the proposed deal illustrates how top-tier buyout shops are targeting mature Saa S companies with predictable recurring revenue streams as safe havens during market turbulence.
Blackstone is exploring a broader expansion into the U.S. retirement market, evaluating opportunities to incorporate private market strategies into target-date funds and separately managed accounts offered through defined contribution plans. With over $10 trillion in assets under management globally, Blackstone aims to leverage its expertise in illiquid investments to capture growing demand from American workers seeking higher yields than traditional 401(k) portfolios provide.
Pimco and Pollen Street Capital are among multiple bidders circling Italian lender BFF Bank's €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) non-performing loan portfolio, which includes commercial real estate exposure and corporate defaults across southern Europe. The competitive process demonstrates resilience in the European private credit market, where distressed asset opportunities continue to attract both opportunistic and strategic investors despite ongoing concerns about banking sector stability.
La Caisse reported a 4.3% decline in its private equity holdings during the first half of 2026, significantly underperforming public equity benchmarks that gained 8.0% over the same period. The performance gap reflects challenges in realizing value from late-stage venture and growth equity investments made during the 2021-2022 boom, prompting some institutional investors to reassess allocation weights towards more liquid alternatives.
Korea's NPS saw its private equity assets under management rise 12% year-over-year, reaching new highs despite slowing momentum in new commitments. However, PE now represents only 7.2% of the total portfolio, down from 7.8% the previous year, indicating a gradual rebalancing toward fixed income and domestic equities amid rising interest rates and currency fluctuations affecting overseas returns.
New 2nd Capital is nearing the final close of its $1.25 billion secondaries fund, having already executed its maiden acquisition just weeks after launch. The vehicle targets mid-market buyout and growth equity secondary purchases, positioning itself to capitalize on forced seller dynamics driven by tighter leverage conditions and extended holding periods across the private markets ecosystem.
Hollyport Capital has maintained its independence following a strategic capital injection from Blue Owl Capital, rejecting acquisition offers from larger secondaries players while securing growth funding to expand origination capabilities. The decision mirrors a broader trend among mid-tier specialists to pursue organic scaling rather than consolidation, betting that fragmented LP portfolios will sustain demand for customized secondary solutions.
WestBridge has acquired a majority stake in Beckett Investment Management, a UK-based financial planning firm managing £2.1 billion in client assets, from Foresight Group. The transaction marks West Bridge's latest move into wealth management services, aligning with a wider shift among European private equity firms toward recurring-fee business models that offer downside protection in uncertain markets.
Marlin subsidiary Radar Healthcare has completed the acquisition of Cemplicity, a patient experience and outcomes measurement platform serving healthcare providers in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the Middle East. The bolt-on enhances Marlin's presence in healthcare IT, where demand for integrated clinical communication tools has surged due to staffing shortages and evolving regulatory requirements around quality reporting.
Resurgens Technology Partners has invested in Qarma, an AI-powered quality compliance software provider that connects brands, retailers, manufacturers, and inspectors across global supply chains. The funding will accelerate product development focused on automating audit processes and enhancing transparency in sourcing practices, addressing mounting ESG scrutiny faced by multinational corporations operating in emerging markets.
Granite Creek portfolio company DCG has merged with Urban Emu, a digital strategy and design agency, to strengthen its offerings in customer experience innovation and technology consulting. The combination brings together DCG's operational transformation expertise with Urban Emu's creative capabilities, creating a full-service partner for enterprises navigating post-pandemic workplace redesign and omnichannel retail strategies.
Braemont Capital has made a growth capital investment in Thought Logic, a management and technology consulting firm specializing in process optimization and change management services. Proceeds will fund geographic expansion and service line diversification, including AI-enabled workflow automation solutions targeted at Fortune 500 clients seeking cost reduction initiatives without compromising service delivery standards.
RF Investment Partners has taken a controlling interest in RJ Underground, a drilling contractor serving municipal water authorities, utilities, and residential developers throughout the western United States. The acquisition taps into infrastructure spending stimulus programs aimed at upgrading aging water systems, offering attractive long-term contracts backed by essential service obligations immune to short-term economic cycles.
Astara Capital has completed the purchase of Dynatec, a manufacturer of industrial wastewater treatment equipment used in food processing, automotive manufacturing, and data center cooling applications. The deal expands Astara's footprint in environmental technology, leveraging synergies between Dynatec's proprietary membrane filtration systems and Astara's existing portfolio of resource recovery assets deployed across North America and Latin America.
Shurco has acquired Heavy Motions Inc., adding precision machining and fabrication capabilities to its lineup of cargo covering and containment systems designed for heavy industry logistics. Backed by Behrman Capital, Shurco intends to integrate Heavy Motions' engineering talent into cross-selling initiatives targeting oil & gas, mining, and renewable energy projects requiring custom-engineered load securement hardware.
Wolf-Gordon has expanded its interior surfaces portfolio through simultaneous acquisitions of Andor Willow and Walls & Interiors, two regional distributors of architectural materials and specialty coatings serving the New York metro area. The dual purchase strengthens Wolf-Gordon's direct-to-designer sales channel while broadening access to sustainable building product categories favored by LEED-certified project specifiers.
Charger continues to back Wolf-Gordon's rollup strategy in commercial interiors, supporting additional M&A activity planned for later this quarter. Having provided growth equity financing earlier this year, Charger sees opportunity in fragmented specialty distribution niches where brand loyalty and technical specification influence purchasing decisions more than price competition alone.
Bernhard portfolio company Optimum Energy has acquired Hussung Mechanical Contractors and HMC Service Company, expanding its HVAC installation and maintenance footprint across healthcare facilities in the Midwest. The acquisition complements Optimum Energy's smart building controls platform, enabling bundled offerings that combine energy efficiency upgrades with predictive maintenance services tailored to mission-critical environments like hospitals and research laboratories.
Apax Partners has agreed to sell Tosca, a provider of reusable packaging and supply chain optimization services for the food industry, to Goldman Sachs Alternatives for a reported enterprise value exceeding $2.5 billion. Having owned Tosca since 2017, Apax successfully transformed the business from a traditional crate manufacturer into a digitally enabled logistics network spanning North America and Europe, achieving consistent double-digit EBITDA growth despite commodity cost pressures.
Butterfly Equity has joined forces with Graham Partners and Wise Equity to pursue joint ventures in the nutraceutical manufacturing space, targeting contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) that serve supplement brands experiencing rapid e-commerce-driven volume growth. Their collective strategy focuses on acquiring scalable platforms capable of meeting stringent FDA compliance requirements while maintaining flexibility to adapt formulations based on shifting consumer preferences around immunity, gut health, and cognitive function ingredients.
Astorg has completed its $1 billion carve-out of Thermo Fisher Scientific's microbiology business, positioning the newly independent entity to benefit from increased demand for antimicrobial resistance testing and pathogen detection solutions in food safety, pharmaceutical quality control, and hospital infection prevention markets. The transaction represents one of the largest pure-play diagnostics buyouts in recent memory, supported by favorable reimbursement policies and aging demographics driving global health expenditures higher.
Bank of America has committed up to $1.9 billion for a minority stake of up to 49.9% in Jio Credit, the lending arm of Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services, marking one of the largest foreign direct investments in Indian consumer finance. The partnership enables Bank of America to tap into Jio's vast mobile subscriber base and distribution network spanning rural and urban markets, while gaining exposure to fast-growing unsecured personal loans, small business credit lines, and digital gold financing products popular among young millennials and first-time borrowers.
PIF has outlined a new five-year strategy shifting emphasis from aggressive capital deployment to active portfolio management and value realization, signaling readiness to welcome greater participation from international co-investors and sovereign wealth partners. Under the 2026-2030 plan, PIF aims to reduce gearing levels, improve governance frameworks, and establish clearer exit horizons for marquee holdings such as SoftBank Vision Fund stakes and NEOM megaproject equity tranches, responding to mounting criticism over opaque reporting and delayed returns on flagship initiatives.
Cube Infrastructure has agreed to sell firstcolo, a Frankfurt-based colocation data center operator, to CVC DIF, the infrastructure arm of CVC Capital Partners, for an undisclosed amount believed to exceed €300 million. The deal aligns with surging European demand for edge computing capacity and localized cloud services, particularly in Germany where strict data sovereignty laws favor domestically operated server farms over U.S.-based hyperscalers expanding into the region.
CVC DIF will integrate firstcolo's assets with its existing portfolio of telecom towers and fiber networks across continental Europe, creating a vertically integrated platform equipped to meet escalating bandwidth requirements generated by generative AI workloads and large language model training clusters hosted within German borders. The acquisition also positions CVC DIF advantageously ahead of anticipated EU regulations mandating local data residency and carbon-neutral power sourcing for cloud infrastructure providers.
Silver Lake and Digital Bridge are reportedly weighing options for Vantage Data Centers, including an IPO or sale that could value the hyperscale operator at roughly $100 billion, making it one of the most valuable real estate-backed technology assets ever considered for public listing. The potential transaction would test investor appetite for mission-critical infrastructure plays amid rising construction costs, energy prices, and land scarcity constraints limiting future expansion possibilities in key Tier 1 markets like Northern Virginia and Tokyo.
Battery Ventures has led a funding round for Vetspire, a veterinary practice management software company incorporating artificial intelligence to optimize appointment scheduling, inventory tracking, and telemedicine consultations. The investment targets a fragmented veterinary software market ripe for consolidation, where independent clinics struggle to compete with corporate chains adopting unified platforms that streamline administrative tasks and enhance patient care coordination across multi-location practices.
Joshua Kushner has cautioned fellow Silicon Valley venture capitalists against chasing artificial intelligence hype at the expense of disciplined underwriting principles, warning that inflated startup valuations and speculative bets on unproven models threaten long-term portfolio performance. His remarks come as AI-focused funds command record-breaking first closes despite limited visibility into actual monetization timelines and unclear paths to profitability beyond proof-of-concept demonstrations and pilot deployments in enterprise software verticals.
Fundraising
EQT's Scaleup Europe Fund debuted with a landmark €450 million cornerstone commitment to ICEYE, a Finnish satellite operator valued at €10 billion following a transformative year of defense contract wins and commercial imagery licensing deals. The fund aims to deploy up to €5 billion across high-growth European tech companies, focusing on sectors aligned with EU strategic priorities including cybersecurity, clean mobility, and space-based Earth observation technologies deemed critical for national security and climate monitoring purposes.
Northern Gritstone plans to open a San Francisco office later this year to deepen engagement with West Coast LPs and accelerate cross-border deal sourcing in life sciences and advanced materials. The UK-based spinout investor seeks to capitalize on renewed optimism surrounding British university research commercialization efforts, backed by government initiatives offering matched funding schemes and tax incentives encouraging private sector collaboration with academic institutions.
Weymouth Retirement Board has issued a request for proposals seeking co-investment managers to supplement its existing primary fund commitments, reflecting a growing preference among public pension plans to pursue direct deal participation alongside established GP relationships. The Massachusetts-based retirement system manages approximately $4.8 billion in total assets, with roughly 12% allocated to private equity, emphasizing diversification through secondary purchases and specially negotiated carve-outs from larger buyout transactions.
Secondaries Investor reports that institutional investors are increasingly gravitating toward locally themed private equity strategies, favoring managers with deep regional expertise and community ties over global megafunds deploying generic playbooks across disparate markets. This shift coincides with heightened interest in supply chain localization, nearshoring trends, and domestic manufacturing incentives introduced by governments worldwide to insulate economies from external shocks and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.
PE International notes that mid-year dealmaking activity has slowed compared to previous years, yet fundraising momentum remains resilient as GPs successfully close oversubscribed vehicles targeting niche sectors such as veterinary services, antimicrobial diagnostics, and construction software. Despite fewer headline-grabbing mega-deals, smaller transactions below $500 million now account for a larger share of total volume, suggesting a maturation of the private markets landscape toward sustainable growth trajectories rather than explosive scaling narratives.
Secondaries Investor reveals that SEC examiners are intensifying scrutiny of private fund valuations, routinely requesting detailed documentation from GPs regarding fair value methodologies, third-party pricing sources, and sensitivity analyses underlying quarterly NAV calculations. This heightened oversight follows mounting concerns about unrealistic markups, inconsistent application of illiquidity discounts, and inadequate disclosure surrounding material changes in portfolio company prospects that may not yet be reflected in reported performance metrics.
Korea's NPS has boosted its secondaries exposure by $1 billion, increasing allocations to secondary funds and co-investments to approximately $3.7 billion—a 36% increase from prior year levels. The move reflects a strategic pivot toward faster liquidity events and reduced vintage year concentration risks associated with blind pool investing, allowing the $800 billion pension fund to recycle capital into newer vintage opportunities while monetizing older commitments held in mature portfolio companies awaiting IPO windows or trade sale recoveries.
Venture Capital
Crunchbase News reports that Databricks has raised an additional $5 billion just eight months after its previous round, extending its lead as the best-funded AI infrastructure startup globally. The latest injection values the San Francisco-based data analytics platform at $43 billion, fueling expansion into generative AI model training tools and enterprise-grade machine learning operations suites designed for Fortune 500 clients migrating workloads to hybrid cloud environments.
Crunchbase News observes that 40 startups achieved unicorn status in July 2026—the highest monthly count in four years—spanning sectors including robotics, AI orchestration, energy storage, and semiconductor design. Notably, nearly half of these newly minted unicorns hail from U.S.-based founders, reversing a recent trend of international dominance in late-stage venture funding rounds and signaling renewed confidence in domestic innovation ecosystems supported by government grants and corporate venture arms.
Sifted covers Multiverse Computing, a Spanish quantum computing software startup preparing for a €500 million Series C round that could catapult it into contention as Europe's next homegrown AI champion. Specializing in quantum machine learning algorithms optimized for financial modeling and drug discovery simulations, Multiverse has attracted backing from telecommunications giants and national defense agencies eager to secure early access to next-generation computational advantages before wider commercial availability.
Sifted explores a stealthy London-based venture lab operating out of the Docklands district, quietly incubating deep-tech startups focused on carbon capture, fusion energy, and biodegradable electronics. Unlike flashy accelerators chasing viral social media moments, this under-the-radar outfit prioritizes scientific rigor and long-term R&D timelines, partnering directly with universities and government laboratories to translate breakthrough discoveries into commercially viable spinouts addressing humanity's most pressing environmental challenges.
Sifted highlights ten drone technology startups poised for breakout success in 2026, ranging from autonomous delivery networks and agricultural spraying drones to urban air mobility vehicles and maritime surveillance platforms. Venture capitalists are betting heavily on regulatory reforms liberalizing airspace access and improving beyond-visual-line-of-sight operation permissions, creating fertile ground for scalable business models built around fleet management software, payload customization, and predictive maintenance analytics powered by onboard sensors and edge computing modules.
Sifted ranks Europe's 30 most active public funds in H1 2026, showcasing institutional investors leading the charge in backing homegrown tech champions and supporting policy objectives around digital sovereignty and green transition financing. From state-owned development banks to supranational investment vehicles, these entities wield considerable influence over directional flows of capital into emerging sectors like clean hydrogen production, offshore wind development, and artificial intelligence research hubs anchored by premier universities and government-backed innovation clusters.
TechCrunch Venture features insights from Joshua Kushner, whose Thrive Capital has navigated the fine line between embracing transformative technologies and avoiding speculative excess in today's frothy venture environment. His candid assessment serves as a reminder that disciplined capital allocation, rigorous due diligence, and patient value creation remain paramount even amidst unprecedented inflows of new capital chasing elusive alpha generation in increasingly competitive private markets landscapes.
M&A Activity
PE Hub covers the merger of private equity firms targeting diverse verticals—from nutraceuticals and fire safety to financial planning and patient experience software—demonstrating sustained appetite for bolt-on acquisitions that enhance platform capabilities and unlock cross-selling synergies across portfolio companies.
Secondaries Investor details how secondary market leaders are navigating shifting dynamics amid increased regulatory oversight, evolving LP preferences, and intensifying competition from well-capitalized newcomers entering the space with novel approaches to liquidity solutions and structured transactions tailored for complex stakeholder constituencies spanning institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals seeking optimized portfolio outcomes through tactical redeployment of illiquid assets.