Private Equity 8 Hours

Last updated: August 26, 2026, 2:37 PM ET

Deals & M&A

Private equity activity remained brisk across sectors. Hull Street Energy acquired the 1,263 MW Grid Flex Portfolio from Rockland Capital, comprising the 677 MW Lee County Generating Station in Illinois and the 586 MW Tait Electric Generating Station in Ohio. In fire safety, Hidden Harbor Capital Partners purchased Escape Fire Protection, a Vadnais Heights, Minnesota-based provider of commercial and industrial fire sprinkler systems. Meanwhile, Soho Square is nearing a deal for a significant minority stake in luxury handbag maker Strathberry at a £100m valuation. In healthcare, Whistler Capital-backed Radiology Partners agreed to acquire Livingbridge's Everlight Radiology, an international teleradiology provider with more than 800 radiologists across 40-plus countries.

Fundraising & Mandates

Fundraising activity showed momentum across strategies. Capital F, one of the few all-female-led VC firms, closed its debut fund at $17 million to back companies in the "female economy." StepStone doubled its target for its debut infrastructure secondaries raise to $1.5bn, with the total programme now securing $1.7bn. In the UK, fund managers are competing to run the £1bn Scale-up Fund, a government-backed initiative. Separately, the UK's largest private pension scheme, USS, hired Robert Ross from CalSTRS to lead its private equity programme.

People & Strategy

Star Mountain tapped Adam Fitzner as managing director and strategic portfolio partner, leveraging his expertise in PE investing and operational value creation. On the liquidity front, a $62bn Texas pension increased its leverage capacity to 15% to enhance liquidity, while a sovereign wealth fund's PE allocation fell to a nine-year low—with a catch—and Chinese PE activity is rebounding.

Sports & Entertainment

Scarcity value is driving sports deals, with Apollo, Joshua Kushner, and José E. Feliciano eyeing a $12.5bn Lakers stake. Rising valuations and rapid movement characterize 2026 professional sports team deals, with Apollo, Arctos, and Blue Owl among active firms. Genstar is selling First Eagle to Victory Capital Holdings for $7bn, and Superstep Capital invested in Google Cloud consultancy Zencore.

Sector Trends & Tech

Legal tech funding reached $2.2bn in 2026, slightly down from its all-time high, with over $7bn poured into AI-focused legal startups in the past two years. In Stockholm, the founder network from Spotify to Lovable is thriving—Lovable raised $400 million at a $13.3 billion valuation, doubling its worth in eight months. Meanwhile, a privacy debate is growing over whether tech events should ban Meta's AI smart glasses.