Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: September 11, 2026, 6:02 AM ET

Healthcare Buyouts

ARCHIMED closed its fourth smallcap buyout fund, MED IV, at its €1.5bn hard cap, with the vehicle three times oversubscribed. The healthcare-focused firm's fundraising success stands out against a broader climate in which many GPs are extending timelines rather than returning to market, and it doubles the firm's firepower for mid-market healthcare deals across Europe and North America. The close was flagged in Side Letter, which also carried dispatches from an industry event in Paris, noted Oregon's PE performance had prompted an allocation rethink, and covered the growth of European evergreen structures.

Funds and Zombie Vehicles

Until the private equity exit environment improves, zombie funds with unnaturally long lives will continue to multiply, with most likely headed toward an "open survival ending" rather than a clean wind-down. On the LP side, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority raised its private equity allocation limit, turning bullish after last year marked the first time in five years it made no change to its PE allocation range. A parallel read of the same shift noted ADIA lifted both its private equity and hedge fund allocations in its 2025 review. In the US, the Connecticut retirement system is spying opportunity among smaller GPs as it builds out its private equity program, and could also expand its growth equity exposure, which currently sits below its target allocation.

Data Centres and Industrial Tech

Blackstone agreed to acquire Flow Control Holdings, a US maker of highly engineered components for data centre liquid cooling, from Audax Private Equity. A separate report on the same transaction confirmed Blackstone's FCH deal, with Audax retaining a minority equity stake in the business as demand grows for liquid cooling of data centres. A roundup of mid-market activity paired the FCH acquisition with FFL Partners' completed investment in a provider of services focused on the office of the chief financial officer. That CFO services target was identified as Waylin Partners, a Chicago-headquartered firm supplying forward-deployed finance engineers as an Office of the CFO advisory business for private equity-backed companies.

Software and AI Security

Bending Spoons agreed to buy Amsterdam-based Miro in a $1.36bn deal, extending the Italian acquirer's run of large software takeovers. In cybersecurity, Insight Partners and Sixth Street's portfolio company Kiteworks acquired Bonfy.AI, an AI data security company whose platform classifies and enforces policies on sensitive data in real time across email, file sharing and AI systems. Due diligence on such assets remains difficult: GPs including Bain and Apollo said at the UK Private Capital Summit that it is hard to quantify claims around AI's contribution to value creation and cost reduction, given the pace of development.

Consumer and Healthcare Services Deals

Mubadala agreed to take a significant minority position in Luckin Coffee alongside Centurium Capital, in a transaction valued at approximately $1bn that anchors a Centurium vehicle. In North American healthcare, L Catterton and Altas Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in Fullscript, the whole-person care platform, from HGGC and Snapdragon Capital Partners. A second report on the transaction described Fullscript as Ottawa, Ontario-headquartered and serving more than 135,000 healthcare practitioners and 10 million patients annually across North America. Elsewhere, 1315 Capital acquired Argonaut's life sciences and diagnostics unit, which now operates independently as Aluris Sciences and provides contract manufacturing for life sciences, diagnostics and combination drug product customers from formulation through commercial supply.

Mid-Market Deals and Add-Ons

Mid Ocean Partners agreed to sell SI Solutions to a Macquarie group, offloading a structural integrity specialist headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, that provides engineering, testing and software solutions to critical infrastructure owners and operators across 16 locations. Brenton Point Capital invested in crop nutrition firm Lakeshore Ag, an Allegan, Michigan-based formulator, blender and distributor of liquid fertilizer that runs customized agronomic programs for growers and agricultural dealers. Centre Partners and Altivare acquired freight logistics provider Navajo Expedited, a Lakeland, Florida-based technology-enabled business connecting commercial shippers with truckload capacity through a network of more than 8,000 vetted carriers. Fusion Capital-backed Relevant Solutions acquired Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, a Solon, Ohio provider of thermal-processing control system engineering, calibration and metrology services to aerospace, automotive and medical customers. Sterling Group-backed OGD completed three garage door add-on deals — Madisonville Garage Doors, Hall's Garage Doors and Compaan Garage Doors — all founder-owned sales, installation and service providers serving Midwest markets. Blue Sage and Castle Capital launched Blue Castle Waste Solutions, established through concurrent partnering with founder-owned waste-collection businesses serving communities across Minnesota and Iowa.

People and Sports Ownership

The Vistria Group appointed Jeff Hawkins as head of its portfolio resources group; the middle-market firm manages $18bn in assets across healthcare, knowledge and learning solutions, and financial services. Vivo Capital named Neetesh Kumar as managing partner; he will co-lead the firm's buyout and private equity investment strategy with a focus on the US market and help establish its presence in New York. In sports, Collaborative Fund bought into D.C. United and its stadium, with firm founder Craig Shapiro pitching the move as a way to showcase the firm's startups — following Thrive Capital and other VCs into pro sports ownership. Mark Wahlberg will appear at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 alongside Bruce K. Lee to discuss investing, entrepreneurship, healthcare, wellness and building businesses.

Venture and Innovation

Sequoia's venture scouts are hunting for deals across Europe, extending the firm's sourcing network into earlier-stage companies. A growing cohort of European founders has set up its own funds, recycling operator experience into new venture vehicles. Sifted also ranked the 10 most capital-efficient startups in DACH and CEE. On the audit side, Cortea is pitching trustworthy AI for auditors, arguing the value lies "not just about automation but quality control." Crunchbase reported that 29 companies joined its Unicorn Board in August, adding roughly $63bn in value, led by AI software and semiconductors, with more than a third of new entrants under three years old. A guest analysis examined how South Korea rose to the world's eighth-largest national innovation ecosystem, crediting sustained government investment and startup policy.