Private Equity 8 Hours

Last updated: September 23, 2026, 2:02 PM ET

Private Equity Deals

Ares Management has acquired an 80% stake in a 384 MW solar-and-battery-storage portfolio from EDP Renewables, deepening its bet on California's renewable infrastructure. Elsewhere in energy transition, Blackstone is targeting $8.5bn for its latest energy transition fund, a substantial step up from the prior vintage, which closed at $5.58bn in February last year.

Consumer and Food M&A

Perwyn and PAI have merged Crosta Mollica with a Nestlé pizza spin-off to create a €1bn group, consolidating the UK premium pizza brand into a larger European platform. In packaging, Butterfly is set to buy Sabert, a food packager, while Main Post and Cap Vest have invested in snacking assets. The NBA also amended its private equity ownership rule in a separate governance move. Snacking M&A has been brisk, with 65 transactions completed in the first half of 2026, up from 50 in the same period a year earlier.

Healthcare and Life Sciences

Arlington-backed AVS Bio has acquired Biorbyt in an add-on deal, picking up the Cambridge, UK-based bioreagent supplier founded in 2011. Duke Street has sold Kent Pharma to Phoenix Labs, exiting the Ashford-headquartered distributor of specialty and generic pharmaceuticals. Apollo-backed Forge is acquiring Becker's Healthcare from Pamlico Capital, adding the healthcare media and information platform founded by Scott Becker to its portfolio.

Industrial and Business Services

GHK Capital-backed WSB has acquired engineering firm Poly, bringing in the Dothan, Alabama-based company founded in 1959 that specializes in architecture and civil engineering. Bertram Capital's Ridgeline Roofing has bought Advantage Roofing & Exteriors, adding the Kalamazoo, Michigan-based installer founded in 1998. Pfingsten has acquired Next Point Bearing Group, a Valencia, California-based distributor of standard, specialized and custom bearings.

Technology and Software

LLR Partners has taken a stake in Energy CAP, an energy management platform serving more than 750 organizations across government, education and healthcare. Renovus Capital-backed Cloud First has acquired Forvis Mazars' IT unit, picking up an established team of IT and cybersecurity professionals. May River Capital has sold Dickson to Blackstone-backed Copeland, exiting the Addison, Illinois-based environmental monitoring platform founded in 1923.

Venture and Growth

Anthropic and Nvidia have backed Basecamp Research in a $140m round, signaling continued strategic appetite for AI-adjacent research platforms. Magic AI has raised £8m to take its AI-powered fitness mirror to the US market. The European Investment Bank has provided €19m in venture debt to Reactive Technologies, a grid-tech firm.

Fundraising and Mandates

New Hampshire Retirement System has issued an RFP for an investment consultant, with proposals due 7 October. EQT has launched a Middle East platform in Abu Dhabi, as Gulf presence becomes table stakes for rainmakers. In venture more broadly, jumbo Series A rounds are hitting record highs, with global startups securing at least 114 Series A rounds of $50m or more so far this year.

Regulation and Governance

Nscale reportedly helped ByteDance subsidiary access Nvidia chips while swerving US export rules, a development likely to intensify scrutiny of offshore compute intermediaries. The emerging M&A map for AI agent security is taking shape as the market specializes, with agents gaining access to enterprise data, systems and tools. Separately, workplace debate is intensifying over whether AI-led performance reviews are friend or foe, as employers weigh algorithmic oversight of staff.

Events and Industry

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