While many peers are struggling to find viable exits, GTCR is already on track to return more than $5 billion this year to investors, reports Bloomberg.

Since April's tariff "Liberation Day," the Chicago-based firm has agreed to sell major stakes in three portfolio companies in quick succession: payments provider Worldpay, fund administration platform Ultimus Fund Solutions, and insurtech business Itel.

Adding the sale of insurance broker AssuredPartners in late 2024, GTCR's last twelve-month exits are nearing $45 billion in enterprise value.

The biggest win for the Chicago-based firm was the $24.3 billion sale of Worldpay to Global Payments, where GTCR’s 55 percent stake delivered a roughly two-times multiple on invested capital just 18 months after entry. A welcome quick win in any scenario, but particularly notable for a deal that was GTCR's largest-ever investment.

GTCR acquired its stake from Fidelity National Information Services in July 2024 at an $18.5 billion valuation, backing former chief executive Charles Drucker.

"We took R&D expense, capital development and expenditures up significantly during our ownership and invested a lot in modernizing the technology, launching new product, and expanding to new markets," GTCR managing director KJ McConnell told Bloomberg at announcement.

"When we bought the business, it was basically flat; now growing mid-single digits with a nice path to high-single digits, given the strength in our e-commerce and software integrated payments businesses. So that was the core thesis: this could be a better business on a standalone basis if we had the right team, and Charles [Drucker] was exactly the right CEO to give us the confidence behind that thesis."

In the rest of the firm’s recent exits, insurance has proven to be a winning theme, supporting the view held by some investors that sector-specific strategies may be somewhat more insulated from broader market pressures.

The momentum has carried over to GTCR's fundraising. The firm closed its $11.5 billion Fund XIV at its hard cap in 2023 and, in February, held the final close of an oversubscribed $3.6 billion second Strategic Growth Fund.

The latter vehicle, focused on middle and lower middle market opportunities with equity investments between $50 million and $250 million, surpassed its $2.75 billion target despite historically poor fundraising conditions. Supporting the performance were commitments of more than $3.35 billion from existing LP relationships.

• Verisure, a security systems provider owned by Hellman & Friedman, is preparing for an IPO in Stockholm that could value the company at more than €20 billion.

• Forest Road Company is in talks to lead an investor group acquiring OnlyFans, a content subscription platform known for adult entertainment, from owner Leonid Radvinsky at a valuation of around $8 billion, per Reuters.

• Aditya Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal, invested $1 billion in Boston Celtics as part of a William Chisholm-led investor group acquiring a majority stake at an initial $6.1 billion valuation, with Sixth Street also committing over $1 billion.

• AT&T (NYSE: T) agreed to acquire Lumen Technologies' (NYSE: LUMN) consumer fiber business in eleven states for $5.75 billion in cash, with plans to place the assets in a new subsidiary where it eventually intends to sell a minority stake.

• Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) is in advanced talks to acquire Silvus Technologies, an LA-based wireless-radio maker, from TJC for around $4.5 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Wise Road Capital is exploring the sale of UTAC Holdings, a Singaporean semiconductor assembly and testing business, which could be valued at around $3 billion, with Foxconn among potential bidders, per Reuters.

• Bain Capital led a $2.1 billion investment in Acrisure, a Michigan-based insurance brokerage, at a $32 billion valuation.

• Hightower invested in Smith Anglin, a Dallas-based wealth management firm with around $2 billion in assets under management focused on the aviation industry.

• Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) agreed to acquire Johnson Matthey's (LSE: JMAT) Catalyst Technologies business, a provider of process technology and catalysts for hydrogen, ammonia, and sustainable aviation fuel production, for £1.8 billion.

• Textainer, a portfolio company of Stonepeak, agreed to acquire Global Sea Containers Limited (Seaco), a marine container leasing company, for $1.75 billion from Bohai Leasing.

• Blackstone has emerged as the front-runner to acquire AGS Health, a medical revenue cycle management firm that serves over 150 healthcare clients, from EQT Partners in a deal expected to value the company at at least $1 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Sanofi (Nasdaq: SNY) agreed to acquire Vigil Neuroscience (Nasdaq: VIGIL), a Watertown, Mass.-based biotech focused on Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, for up to $600 million ($470 million upfront).

• Transom Capital Group agreed to acquire SigmaTron International (Nasdaq: SGMA), an Illinois-based electronic manufacturing services company, for $83 million.

• Publicis Groupe (Paris: PUB) acquired Captiv8, a San Mateo-based influencer marketing platform previously backed by UTA Ventures, Lone Wolf Partners, Launch Fund, and Joyance Partners.

• Greenbriar Equity Group acquired West Star Aviation, an Illinois-based provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul services for business aircraft, from The Sterling Group.

• Providence Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in GCL, a specialty logistics provider for live events and luxury goods, from ATL Partners, which will retain a minority position.

• Ardian agreed to acquire a majority stake in MasterGrid, a French manufacturer of high-voltage electrical equipment, from Andera Partners.

• EQT agreed to acquire Seven Seas Water Group, a water and wastewater treatment solutions provider operating across the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America, from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure.

• Kuehne+Nagel (Swiss: KNIN) agreed to acquire TDN (Transporte y Distribución Nacional), a Spanish road logistics provider.

• PNC (NYSE: PNC) agreed to acquire Aqueduct Capital Group, a placement agent focused on raising capital for private equity, private credit, and real asset managers.

• H.I.G. Growth Partners invested in AgileBlue, a Cleveland-based AI-powered security operations platform.

• Vista Equity Partners invested in RollKall, an Irving, Texas-based provider of management software for public safety agencies, joining existing investor LKCM Headwater.

• Golden Opportunities Fund and Farm Credit Canada Capital invested in Drake Meat Processors, a Saskatchewan-based consumer-packaged meat company.

• ICG invested in Hakim Group, a UK-based network of independent opticians.

• Boyne Capital invested in McNish, a provider of engineered products for municipal water and wastewater treatment industries.

• MGT, a portfolio company of Vistria Group, acquired Ednetics, an Idaho-based provider of technology solutions for education and government entities.

• McNally Capital acquired Quiet Professionals, a Tampa-based provider of advanced technology and intelligence solutions for the U.S. national security community.

• BC Partners is considering the sale of a minority stake in Davies Group, a UK insurance services firm, after previous talks to sell the entire company failed, per Bloomberg.

• Alba Wheels Up, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, agreed to acquire The Perishable Specialist, a Doral, Fla.-based customs broker specializing in fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables imports.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Legora, a Stockholm-based AI platform for legal professionals, raised $80 million in Series B funding co-led by ICONIQ Growth and General Catalyst, with participation from Redpoint Ventures, Benchmark, and Y Combinator, valuing the company at $675 million.

• Gravitee, a Denver-based API and event management platform, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Sixth Street Growth, with participation from Riverside Acceleration Capital and AlbionVC.

• Veesion, a French gesture recognition platform for retail theft detection, raised €38 million in Series B funding co-led by White Star Capital, Red River West, and Bpifrance, with participation from Odyssée Ventures, Verve Ventures, and Founders Future.

• DataHub, an open source metadata platform for AI and data management, raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from 8VC, Tru Arrow, SineWave, In-Q-Tel, and Zero Prime.

• Blues, a Boston-based IoT connectivity solutions provider, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital.

• Sweep, a workspace automation platform for business systems, raised $22.5 million in Series B funding led by Insight Partners, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners.

• Rhino Federated Computing, a platform for AI collaboration across regulated industries without data centralization, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by AlleyCorp, with participation from LionBird, Fusion Fund, Arkin Digital Health, Qiming Venture Partners USA, TELUS Global Ventures, Wilson's Bird Capital, and Keren Maccabi.

• Barndoor AI, an enterprise AI governance platform for access control and policy enforcement, raised $13.6 million in seed funding led by Crosslink Capital, with participation from Preface Ventures, Precursor Ventures, and Gaingels.

• StackHawk, a shift-left API security platform, raised $12 million in additional funding from Sapphire Ventures and Costanoa Ventures.

• Ravical, a Belgian startup developing specialized AI agents for professional services, raised €7.3 million in pre-seed funding led by Lakestar, with participation from Pitchdrive and Entourage.

• Freshflow, a Berlin and Paris-based AI platform for fresh food supply chains in grocery retail, raised €6.5 million in Series A funding co-led by World Fund, Capnamic, and Venture Stars, with participation from Caesar Ventures and Catatumbo Capital.

• AskElephant, an AI platform for customer-facing teams, raised $6 million in seed funding led by Jump Capital, with participation from High Alpha, Tandem, and SaaS Ventures.

• Zoca, a growth platform for hyperlocal service businesses, raised $6 million in seed funding led by Accel, with participation from GTMfund, Elevation Capital, and Better Capital.

• EDEN, a sales enablement platform for home services contractors, raised $3.7 million in Series A funding led by Climactic, with participation from Better Ventures and C2 Ventures.

• Tamtam, a French B2B platform for identifying high-value sales prospects, raised €3 million in seed funding led by Varsity, with participation from Kima Ventures.

Fintech

• Airwallex, a payments and financial platform for businesses, raised $300 million in Series F funding led by Square Peg, with participation from DST Global, Lone Pine Capital, Blackbird, Airtree, Salesforce Ventures, Visa Ventures, and several Australian pension funds.

• Monarch Money, a personal finance platform with budgeting tools, raised $75 million in Series B funding co-led by Forerunner Ventures and FPV Ventures, with participation from Menlo Ventures, Accel, SignalFire, and Clocktower Ventures, at an $850 million valuation.

• Clair, a New York-based earned wage access fintech, raised $23.2 million in Series B funding led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from Thrive Capital.

• Lendflow, an Austin-based embedded credit infrastructure platform, raised $15 million in growth capital from Trinity Capital.

• Kota, an Irish insurance benefits API platform, raised $14.5 million in Series A funding led by Eurazeo, with participation from EQT Ventures, Northzone, Frontline Ventures, 9Yards, and Plug and Play.

• Penfold, a UK-based workplace pension platform, raised £3.9 million in new funding led by Gresham House Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Bridford Group.

• Ontik, a London-based fintech that automates B2B trade credit, raised $3.7 million in seed funding led by Firstminute Capital, with participation from PT1, Illusian, FJ Labs, Seed X, and Tiny VC.

Consumer & Media

• Strava, a fitness tracking platform with 150 million registered users, raised an undisclosed amount in new funding led by Sequoia Capital at a $2.2 billion valuation, with participation from TCV, Jackson Square Ventures, and Go4it Capital.

Healthcare

• Juvenescence, a clinical-stage biotech developing therapeutics for age-related diseases, raised $76 million in Series B-1 funding led by Abu Dhabi-based M42, with participation from existing investors.

• FORE Biotherapeutics, a cancer drugmaker developing targeted therapies, raised $38 million in Series D-2 funding from SR One, Medicxi, OrbiMed, HBM Healthcare Investments, Wellington Management, Novartis Venture Fund, Cormorant Asset Management, and 3B Future Health Fund.

• PHASE Scientific, a Hong Kong-based developer of urine-based disease diagnostics, raised $34 million in Series A funding led by Value Partners Group, with participation from new healthcare-focused investors and existing backers.

• General Medicine, a healthcare marketplace for transparent medical service pricing, raised $32 million in Series A funding led by Matrix Partners, with participation from BoxGroup, Founder Collective, VXI Capital, and JSL Health Capital.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Converge, a London-based company using AI for concrete management and decarbonization, raised $22 million in Series A funding led by ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund, with participation from Climate Investment, Move Energy, PI Impact, J-Impact, TO Ventures, and Force Over Mass Capital.

• Rivan, a London-based developer of solar-powered synthetic fuel plants, raised £10 million in funding led by Plural, with participation from 20VC and NFDG.

• PiLogic, a developer of exact AI models for aerospace and defense applications, raised $4 million in seed funding co-led by Scout Ventures and Seraphim Space, with participation from Sovereign's Capital, Flex Capital, and FN Fund.

• Sention Technologies, a London-based startup using ultrasonic technology to visualize battery internal structures, raised £3.7 million in seed funding led by Twin Path Ventures, with participation from Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Endgame Capital, Energy Revolution Ventures, G.K. Goh Ventures, Green Angel Ventures, Third Sphere, and UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund.

• Crestline Investors raised $1.7 billion for its third dedicated NAV financing fund, the Portfolio Finance Sentry Fund.

• Arena Investors raised $1.091 billion for its third Special Opportunities Partners Fund.

• Dementia Discovery Fund, managed by SV Health Investors, raised $269 million for its second fund focused on novel therapeutics for dementia.

• QuantumLight, an AI-driven venture capital firm founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, raised $250 million for its debut fund.

• Emil Capital Partners raised $100 million for its fourth fund and rebranded as ECP Growth.

• Scribble Ventures raised $80 million for its third fund.

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