As early continuation vehicles reach maturity, sponsors are beginning to test “CV-squared” transactions—moving assets from one continuation vehicle to another—as a way to (again) extend the hold period and offer liquidity to investors.

Continuation funds accounted for nearly 20 percent of exits in the first half of 2025, according to Jefferies, as M&A and IPO exit paths remained scarce. Of those, a growing portion are now pursuing the alternative exit strategy for the second time in a row.

Accel-KKR extended its ownership of HR solutions platform isolved via a $1.9 billion second continuation vehicle. CapVest is attempting to move Curium Pharma to a second continuation vehicle, and PAI Partners is looking to do the same with ice cream maker Froneri.

Not all efforts succeed: Revelstoke Capital Partners shelved a follow-on continuation fund for Fast Pace Health after investor pushback, Bloomberg reported.

“This is certainly an emerging theme,” Matthew Wesley, until recently the global head of the private capital group at Jefferies, told Bloomberg. “Raising a continuation vehicle on a continuation vehicle is not yet routine, simply because the CV market, and the single-asset CV market in particular, only really started gaining momentum four or five years ago. We are only now starting to come to the end of the natural life of those vehicles, and some sponsors are thinking about whether a second continuation vehicle could be the right exit path for some companies.”

“I think it is inevitable that we are going to see more of these deals,” adds Gavin Anderson, partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. “We are now reaching a point where a critical mass of continuation vehicles will be reaching the end of their life, and sponsors are wondering what to do next.” He is measured on scope: “I still believe these deals will be the exception rather than the rule,” Anderson says. “Everyone, ultimately, wants to see a third-party exit, but we are bound to start seeing this happen more often.”

First-generation CVs were pitched to hold a standout asset longer while giving limited partners a cash option. The second time around, the pitch is largely the same: sponsors believe there's still 'meat on the bone' and want to further extend their hold.

In other cases, returning or lead investors need liquidity and will push the sponsors toward a continuation vehicle if there's no other viable exit path on the table.

Incentives can also align for secondaries funds to push for a second CV. “Secondaries funds have a fixed term and need to work within a prescribed exit timeline,” Campbell Lutyens’ Gerald Cooper tells Private Equity International. “They also have preferred return hurdles that they need to be cognisant of, so a second continuation vehicle may be as useful a portfolio management tool for them as it is for the underlying sponsor.”

So far, performance data appears to support sponsors' position that CVs can be an important tool for capturing longer-term upside on an asset. Evercore Private Capital Advisory's latest continuation fund report shows that by at least one measure, single-asset CVs have outperformed traditional buyouts in recent years, and they typically carry lower management fees than flagship funds.

• Thoma Bravo is in talks to acquire Dayforce (NYSE: DAY), a Minneapolis-based HR software provider with an $8.44 billion market cap, per Bloomberg.

• Musinsa, a KKR-backed South Korean fashion platform, is considering an IPO that could value the company at approximately $7.2 billion and has invited investment banks to submit proposals as potential lead managers.

• Legence, a Blackstone-owned sustainability consultancy, filed for an IPO on the Nasdaq (LGN) with reports suggesting it could seek a $5 billion valuation.

• Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) pulled out of its $3.78 billion agreement to acquire Anglo American's (LSE: AAL) Australian steelmaking coal mines.

• Permira and Warburg Pincus hired Evercore to find a buyer for UK wealth manager Evelyn Partners, which could be valued at £2.5 billion, per the Financial Times.

• Nautic Partners agreed to acquire KabaFusion, a California-based home infusion therapy provider, from Novo Holdings for approximately $2.2 billion, per Axios Pro.

• Ideagen, a Hg-owned compliance software provider, acquired Reactec, an Edinburgh-based workplace safety wearables company, marking Ideagen's sixth acquisition of 2025.

• Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) and Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) are exploring the sale of payment processor Moneris, which could be valued at up to $2 billion, per Reuters.

• Raisa Energy is selling a package of non-operating oil and gas wells across U.S. shale basins that could fetch around $1.5 billion, per Reuters.

• Quanta Services (NYSE: PWR) agreed to acquire Dynamic Systems, an Austin-based provider of mechanical solutions, from FGI Group for $1.35 billion upfront plus a potential $216 million earnout.

• Advent International agreed to acquire U-Blox Holding (SWX: UBXN), a Swiss maker of microchips and positioning technology for cars, robots and farm equipment, for 1.05 billion Swiss francs ($1.30 billion).

• Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners acquired Beehive Battery Energy Storage System, a 250 MW battery project in Arizona with a 20-year agreement with Arizona Public Service Company, from EDF Power Solutions.

• Comply365, a portfolio company of Insight Partners and Liberty Hall Capital Partners, acquired Beams, a German provider of AI-powered aviation safety risk management solutions.

• Finsbury Food, a U.K. bakery owned by DBAY Advisors, acquired a 70% stake in Lola's Cupcakes, a British premium cake maker.

• MSQ Partners, owned by LDC and One Equity Partners, ruled out a merger with U.K. ad agency S4 Capital (LSE: SFOR).

• Great Hill Partners acquired a majority stake in Blue Cloud Pediatric Surgery Centers, the largest operator of pediatric ambulatory surgery centers focused on dental and oral surgery in the United States, from TPG's The Rise Fund.

• Unik System Design, a portfolio company of Main Capital Partners, agreed to acquire LEB System, a Stockholm-based provider of modular property and facility management software for public and private sector property owners.

• Wilmar, a portfolio company of Rainier Partners, acquired EZRED, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of automotive aftermarket tools and lighting products.

• Rockwood Equity Partners acquired Zero Manufacturing, a Utah-based maker of fabricated aluminum and molded plastic protective cases.

• Hidden Harbor Capital Partners invested in McHale, an Upper Marlboro, Maryland-based residential landscaping services provider, with founders Kevin and Steve McHale remaining invested in the business.

• Gridiron Capital acquired ABC Legal Services, a Seattle-based provider of service of process and court filing solutions, from Aquiline.

• Platinum Equity agreed to acquire Anuvu, an Illinois-based provider of entertainment and connectivity solutions for airlines, from Apollo and other investors.

• InfraRed Capital Partners, part of SunLife Financial (NYSE: SLF), agreed to acquire nine data centers from Rogers Communications (TSX: RCI).

• CORE Industrial Partners invested in IMMEC, a Georgia-based provider of facility maintenance and retrofit services for critical infrastructure across the Southeast.

• Searchlight Capital Partners invested in Chord, a music IP management and acquisition platform.

• Apollo and Motive Partners are forming a new private-market services provider through the merger of fund administrator Alchelyst and Apollo spinout Lyra Client Solutions, per the WSJ.

• E Source, an Align Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired Opinion Dynamics, a grid program evaluation and advisory firm.

• Ocean Yield, a Norwegian portfolio company of KKR, acquired CapeOmega Gas Transportation, an LNG tanker investment firm.

• Automated Industrial Robotics, a Michigan-based portfolio company of Ares Management, acquired Owens Design, a Fremont-based industrial automation company.

• Invicti Security, an Austin-based portfolio company of Summit Partners, acquired Kondukto, a provider of application security posture management solutions previously seeded by ScaleX Ventures.

• Arlington Capital Partners acquired GovOS and merged it with two existing portfolio companies — Avenu Insights & Analytics and Intellectual Technology — to form a new govtech platform called Neumo, per Axios Pro.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Seemplicity, a cybersecurity remediation workflow platform, raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Sienna VC, with participation from Glilot Capital Partners, NTTVC, Atlantic Bridge, S Capital, and Rain Capital.

• Functionize, a platform for automated software test creation, raised $41 million in Series B funding co-led by Mumford Investments and LHH Investments, with participation from Canvas Ventures and Wipro Ventures.

• Kasa, a hospitality management platform for boutique hotels and apartment-style properties, raised $40 million in new funding led by Silver Lake Waterman.

• Keychain, a manufacturing platform for the consumer packaged goods industry, raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Wellington Management and BoxGroup, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners.

• Tote.ai, a point-of-sale system for fuel and convenience stores, raised $22.6 million in Series A funding led by Cota Capital, with participation from Storm Ventures and Cervin Ventures.

• Firecrawl, a developer platform for web crawling and data extraction, raised $14.5 million in Series A funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Y Combinator.

• Qunova Computing, a South Korean quantum software developer for chemical, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications, raised $10 million in Series A funding from GS Ventures, Korea Development Bank, GU Equity Partners, Company K, Quantum Ventures Korea, JB Investment, CKD Venture Capital, and Daesung Private Equity.

• TensorZero, an open-source stack for LLM applications, raised $7.3 million in seed funding led by FirstMark Capital, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Bedrock, DRW, and Coalition.

• Zipline AI, a data platform for AI application development and deployment, raised $7 million in seed funding led by Wing VC, with participation from Stripe, Box Group, and Exceptional Capital.

Fintech

• IVIX, an AI platform that helps governments combat financial crime, raised $60 million in Series B funding led by O.G. Venture Partners, with participation from Insight Partners, Citi Ventures, Team8, Disruptive AI, Cardumen Capital, and Cerca.

Consumer & Media

• Eight Sleep, a New York-based developer of smart sleep products, raised $100 million in Series D funding from HSG, Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, and Y Combinator.

Healthcare

• Anocca, a Swedish company developing T-cell therapies for solid tumors, raised $46 million in new funding led by Mellby Gård, with participation from AMF, Ramsbury, and other existing shareholders.

• Medallion, a healthcare administrative automation platform, raised $43 million in new funding led by Acrew Capital, with participation from Washington Harbour Partners, Sequoia Capital, GV, Spark Capital, and NFDG.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Aalo Atomics, a company developing modular nuclear reactors for data centers, raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from Fine Structure Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Crosscut, NRG Energy, Vamos Ventures, Tishman Speyer, Kindred Ventures, 50Y, Harpoon Ventures, Crescent Enterprises, Alumni Ventures, MCJ, Gaingels, Perpetual VC, and Nucleation Capital.

• SpinLaunch, a space technology company developing satellite launch systems, raised $30 million in new funding led by ATW Partners, with participation from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

• ChemFinity Technologies, a Brooklyn-based company recovering critical minerals from waste streams, raised $7 million in seed funding co-led by At One Ventures and Overture Ventures, with participation from Closed Loop Ventures Group, Pace Ventures, WovenEarth Ventures, and Climate Capital.

• Grid Aero, a developer of autonomous cargo aircraft for military and commercial logistics, raised $6 million in seed funding co-led by Calibrate Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures.

• Pritzker Private Capital raised $3.4 billion for its fourth flagship fund.

• Vanara Capital launched with TPG as anchor investor to provide flexible capital solutions to growth-stage companies, led by TPG alumni Neil Kamath and Hayden Lekacz.

Interested in partnering with Transacted? If you’re a financial services firm looking to connect with an engaged audience, please reach out.