Private Equity 8 Hours

Last updated: March 26, 2026, 2:30 PM ET

Deal Activity & Sector Focus

Private equity dealmaking continues across specialized sectors, with Advent committing fresh capital to defense technology firm Shield AI, earmarking proceeds to finance its planned purchase of Sagewind Capital's portfolio company, Aechelon Technology Inc. In healthcare roll-ups, Olympus Partners-backed EyeSouth acquired the Aslett-Kurica Eye Center, bolstering the Atlanta-based management services organization's footprint. Meanwhile, Terminus Capital took a majority stake in insurtech provider Andesa, intending to fund application development and enhance administrative tool scalability.

Exits & Secondary Market Moves

Firms are actively managing portfolios, as evidenced by Advent agreeing to sell beauty brand OLAPLEX to Henkel for $1.4 billion amid accelerating M&A in the premium beauty space. Elsewhere, Audax and Greenbriar jointly exited airport services provider AGI to Lone Star, a co-investment made only in June 2021. Furthermore, sector-specialist Linden is reportedly considering a secondaries strategy, joining a growing cohort of buyout firms seeking liquidity options in the secondary market.

Thematic Investing & Infrastructure

The shift toward essential services and infrastructure remains evident, with Clearlake Capital acquiring Qualus from New Mountain Capital amid rising power demand, providing KKR-backed CoolIT employees with a "handsome payout" upon exit. In the UK, FPE-backed Point74 purchased Quor, a compliance platform, aiming to forge the nation’s first unified food software ecosystem. Concurrently, investment interest in women’s health is receiving validation, with the pending $18.3 billion take-private of Hologic by Blackstone and TPG serving as a key bellwether for the sector's attractiveness.

Geographic Focus & Capital Raising

Managers seeking new capital are focusing efforts on the Middle East, where general partners who deepen regional commitment are expected to find greater success with investors. This regional focus is mirrored in transaction support, as Alterra backed General Atlantic's investment in Wireless Logic, continuing the flow of capital into the region. On the seed stage front, while overall early-stage funding is competitive, data indicates that larger seed rounds exceeding $10 million in the U.S. have shown growth, contrasting with stagnation in smaller early financing.

Firm Strategy & Operational Integration

Financial institutions are responding to the maturation of the private capital market by reorganizing services, exemplified by Bank of America launching a dedicated Private Capital M&A Group specifically designed to facilitate private equity exits. Internally, portfolio companies are pursuing add-on acquisitions to scale operations; for example, Trinity Hunt-backed Allvia snapped up HR Pals to expand its workforce services platform, and Sovereign-backed Affinia completed an add-on following its initial investment in the founding firm, LB Group, last year. Meanwhile, the operational friction points for GPs are apparent, with managers facing difficulties in the fund finance process, even as AI begins to play a larger role in investor relations functions as noted in recent correspondence.