Prepare New Hires for the Transition to Private Equity

Analysts and associates moving into private equity roles face a steep transition. Training The Street’s Private Equity Transition course prepares professionals to step into PE roles with the technical skills, judgment, and deal perspective required to add value quickly.

Trusted by leading private equity firms globally, this course focuses on how deals are evaluated, structured, and executed from the investor’s perspective, bridging the gap between banking analysis and real-world PE decision-making.

Private Equity Transition provides a practical foundation that helps new PE hires ramp faster, adopt an investor mindset, and contribute meaningfully from day one.

Your team will be equipped to:

• Evaluate private equity investments using LBO models and return analysis

• Analyze deal structures, capital stacks, and value creation levers

• Assess investment risks, operating assumptions, and exit scenarios with confidence

Register today to secure early-bird pricing, with in-person and virtual programs available throughout the year.

Bain released its 2026 Global Private Equity Report last week, showing that private equity posted its second-best year ever in 2025 based on headline transaction value. New investments climbed 44 percent to $904 billion, and exits jumped 47 percent to $717 billion.

At first glance, that seems like the long-awaited turnaround that investors have been hoping for.

But, exclude the 13 transactions of $10 billion or more, and things look considerably worse. Those megadeals contributed 69 percent of the year's growth in deal value, and overall deal count actually fell 6 percent to 3,018 transactions.

Exit value improved materially in 2025, but distributions to limited partners remain stuck in crisis territory. As a percentage of net asset value, distributions have now held below 15 percent for four consecutive years to set an unwanted industry record.

The situation could arguably be worse than the aftermath of the financial crisis because the current drought has persisted far longer.

Average hold periods at exit have grown to more than seven years, up from five to six years during the 2010–21 period. Nearly 40 percent of portfolio companies are now held for more than five years, compared with 29 percent in 2019.

The companies that did exit successfully in 2025 were overwhelmingly 'gems', high-quality assets, or those with strong strategic relevance. General partners had far more difficulty moving anything with weaker momentum or an uncertain outlook.

GP- and LP-led secondaries continued their strong run, with 41 percent year-over-year growth. According to Bain's survey data, roughly a quarter of general partners initiated or completed a continuation vehicle over the past two years, and approximately 40 percent plan to explore one over the next 12 to 24 months. More than half of survey respondents cited generating liquidity as a primary motivation, with 42 percent focused on securing fresh capital for add-on acquisitions.

But, even with that growth, continuation vehicles still only account for less than 10 percent of total exit value. Limited partners also indicate little appetite for any more than one such transaction per year from any given general partner.

Amid ongoing liquidity challenges, global alternatives fundraising plateaued at roughly $1.3 trillion in 2025, while buyout dropped 16 percent to $395 billion. The total number of funds closed fell 18 percent overall and 23 percent for buyout specifically.

Though limited partner surveys consistently report that the majority plan to maintain or increase private capital allocations, they're still working against unfavorable distributions math: by year-end 2025, 53 percent of LPs in a Private Equity International survey indicated they were limited in making new commitments because prior commitments had not yet been called (a 15-percentage-point increase from year-end 2024).

According to Bain's analysis, around 70 percent of fund series that would typically have raised by now have done so.

It's not quite the zombie fund apocalypse some projected, though there are likely to be casualties among the 30 percent that have not yet raised.

In normal periods, roughly 15 percent of fund series fail to reraise. During the global financial crisis, that rate climbed to roughly 20 percent, which may serve as a good benchmark for where the current cohort will shake out.

• David Lloyd Leisure, backed by TDR Capital, acquired Aspria, a European premium health and wellness operator.

• A consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT Infrastructure agreed to acquire AES Corporation (NYSE: AES), a U.S. power utility, for $10.7 billion ($33.4 billion including assumed debt), with CalPERS and QIA joining as co-investors.

• Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire WWEX Group, a third-party logistics provider, from CVC Capital Partners, Providence Equity Partners, PSG, and Ridgemont Equity Partners for around $5 billion, and plans to merge it with existing portfolio company Auctane.

• Allianz Global Investors acquired a 50% stake in a portfolio of 11 battery energy storage projects under construction in Germany from TotalEnergies, representing 789 MW and 1,628 MWh of capacity, with a total development value of €500 million.

• Warburg Pincus agreed to invest up to $1 billion in Global Eggs, a Brazilian multinational egg producer, at an $8 billion valuation.

• Brink's (NYSE: BCO) agreed to acquire NCR Atleos (NYSE: NATL), an ATM managed services provider, for $6.6 billion.

• CPP Investments and Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) agreed to acquire atNorth, a pan-Nordic data center operator, for $4 billion from Partners Group.

• Macquarie Asset Management is weighing a bid for a 50% stake in Secure Electronic Registries Victoria (SERV), Victoria's privatized land titles registry, from Aware Super in a deal that could value the asset at A$4 billion, per AFR.

• Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in Tingstad, a Swedish B2B distributor of non-food consumables, from the Jigberg family.

• Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) acquired Ori Industries, a London-based AI cloud infrastructure platform, merging it into Radiant, a newly formed Brookfield portfolio company focused on on-demand AI compute and sovereign cloud deployments.

• Accenture (NYSE: ACN) agreed to acquire Ookla, a network intelligence and analytics company whose products include Speedtest, Downdetector, Ekahau, and RootMetrics, from Ziff Davis for $1.2 billion in cash.

• Sandbrook Capital, in partnership with funds managed by Blackstone Credit & Insurance, acquired United Utility Services, a New Orleans-based electric grid infrastructure services provider, from Bernhard Capital Partners for around $1 billion.

• Searchlight Capital Partners and Abry Partners agreed to acquire KORE Group Holdings (NYSE: KORE), an Atlanta-based IoT connectivity and analytics provider, for $726 million.

• 360training.com, a portfolio company of GreyLion and Vestar Capital Partners, acquired select assets of Canadian Food Safety Group, an Alberta-based online food safety training provider.

• Accel-KKR acquired a majority stake in Whip Around, a fleet maintenance and compliance software provider, for more than $100 million.

• Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) signed an exclusive agreement to acquire Aluminium Dunkerque, Europe's largest primary aluminium smelter, from American Industrial Partners.

• Grupo Alacant, a portfolio company of Investindustrial, agreed to acquire Silver Pail, a Cork-based Irish ice cream manufacturer, for around €10 million.

• Zavation Medical Products, a Gemspring Capital portfolio company, acquired ChoiceSpine, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based spinal implant systems maker.

• Waterland Private Equity acquired a majority stake in Cooper Turner Beck Group, a U.K.-based provider of safety-critical fastening solutions for the energy, construction, and heavy industries, from Watermill Group.

• SolomonEdwards, a portfolio company of Renovus Capital Partners, acquired CFO's Domain, a Los Angeles-based CFO advisory consulting and recruiting firm.

• CRC Group acquired Euclid Transactional, an MGA specializing in representations and warranties and tax liability insurance, from Searchlight Capital Partners.

• Tonka Bay Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in CAMP Digital, an Edina, Minnesota-based AI-driven digital marketing platform for home services companies.

• FutureLife Group, backed by CVC Capital Partners and Hartenberg Holding, agreed to acquire Herts & Essex Fertility Centre, an independent fertility clinic based in Hertfordshire, UK.

• Northlane Capital Partners invested in File & ServeXpress, a provider of online legal document exchange and management solutions for courts, government agencies, and legal professionals.

• Tilleghem acquired a stake in Nova Reperta, a Brussels- and Amsterdam-based management consulting firm, from Ardian.

• Woven Solutions, a portfolio company of Falfurrias Management Partners, acquired Valence, a government consultancy delivering commercial technology solutions to the Intelligence Community.

• New State Capital Partners acquired Vast Coworking Group, a coworking franchise platform operating brands including Venture X, Office Evolution, and Intelligent Office, from United Franchise Group.

• Scarlet Security & Risk Group, a portfolio company of Trilogy Capital Partners, acquired Elite Residential Concierge, a Toronto-based residential concierge and security services provider.

• Zenex Animal Health India, a portfolio company of Multiples PE, acquired a majority stake in VievePharm, a Dutch natural animal nutrition company.

• A group led by Tinicum and Blackstone submitted a preliminary proposal to acquire Senior (LSE: SNR), a UK aerospace and defence engineer, with Advent International also confirming it is separately considering an offer.

• Resurgens Technology Partners invested in Breezeway, a Boston-based operations platform for vacation rentals.

• Axel Springer acquired Bisnow, a commercial real estate media and events company, from The Wicks Group.

• Concord, backed by GTCR, acquired Finley Technologies, an SF-based provider of credit facility management software for banks, asset managers, and corporate borrowers.

• Trive Capital invested in Rolfson Oil, a Watford City, North Dakota-based distributor of fuel, oils, and lubricants.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Ayar Labs, a co-packaged optics company for AI data center interconnects, raised $500 million in Series E funding at a $3.75 billion valuation led by Neuberger Berman, with participation from ARK Invest, Insight Partners, Qatar Investment Authority, Sequoia Global Equities, 1789 Capital, AMD, MediaTek, and Alchip.

• Gambit Security, an Israeli AI-native cyber resilience platform, raised $61 million in combined seed and Series A funding co-led by Spark Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Cyberstarts.

• Encord, a San Francisco-based data infrastructure platform for physical AI, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Wellington Management, with participation from Y Combinator, CRV, N47, Crane Venture Partners, Bright Pixel, and Isomer Capital.

• Guild.ai, an enterprise platform for managing and scaling AI agents with governance and cost controls, raised $44 million in seed and Series A funding led by GV, with participation from Acrew Capital, NfX, Khosla Ventures, Scribble Ventures, and Webb Investment Network, valuing the company at $300 million.

• Astelia, a cybersecurity exposure management platform, raised $35 million in combined seed and Series A funding co-led by Index Ventures and Team8, with participation from Holly Ventures.

• Sensera Systems, a Denver-based jobsite intelligence platform for construction, raised $27 million in Series B funding led by 10 Atlantic Group, with participation from Egis Capital Partners and MUUS Asset Management.

• Comp, a Brazilian HR platform for compensation management, recruiting, and performance management, raised $17.25 million in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Kaszek, Canary, Abstract Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst.

• Callosum, a London-based company developing software that orchestrates AI workloads across heterogeneous chips, raised $10.25 million in seed funding led by Plural, with participation from ARIA and British angel investors.

• Gushwork, an AI marketing platform that helps businesses get discovered on AI search engines, raised $9 million in seed funding co-led by Susquehanna Asia VC and Lightspeed, with participation from B Capital, Seaborne Capital, Beenext, Sparrow Capital, and 2.2 Capital.

Fintech

• Allica Bank, a UK-based digital bank for SMEs, raised $155 million in Series D funding led by Ventura Capital, with participation from GLG, Sona AM, TCV, and Blue Owl.

• Rowspace, an AI platform that helps financial services firms make faster decisions using proprietary data, raised $50 million in combined Seed and Series A funding co-led by Sequoia Capital and Emergence Capital, with participation from Stripe, Conviction, Basis Set, and Twine.

• Harper, a San Francisco-based commercial insurance brokerage for small and mid-sized businesses, raised $46.8 million in combined seed and Series A funding led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Peak XV, Antler, 10X Founders, Fellows Fund, and Outset Capital.

• Croissant, a Nashville-based platform that guarantees resale value for fashion purchases at checkout, raised $28 million in new funding co-led by Portage and Third Prime, including $14 million in equity and $14 million in incremental debt capacity.

• Xflow, an India-based B2B cross-border payments platform, raised $16.6 million in Series A funding at an $85 million post-money valuation led by General Catalyst, with participation from Square Peg, Stripe, Lightspeed, Moore Capital, and PayPal Ventures.

Consumer & Media

• VITURE, a developer of XR/AR smart glasses, raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Legend Capital, alongside a group of strategic investors.

Healthcare

• Alveus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech developing therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases, raised $197 million in Series A extension funding led by New Rhein Healthcare Investors, with participation from Jeito Capital and Novo Holdings.

• Salma Health, a brain health company combining diagnostics, treatment, and care coordination, raised $80 million in Series A funding co-led by Mubadala Capital and ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from Lingotto Horizon and Averin Capital.

• QL Biopharm, a Beijing-based biotech developing GLP-1 obesity drugs, including once-monthly candidate zovaglutide, raised $72 million in Series C funding led by OrbiMed, with participation from Qiming Venture Partners, 5Y Capital, Huagai Capital, BlueRun Ventures, and Taiyu Investment.

• BreezeBio, a South San Francisco-based biotech developing mRNA therapies for immune tolerance restoration in type 1 diabetes, raised $60 million in Series B funding co-led by Yuanta Investment and DSC Investment, with participation from SV Investment, Kiwoom Investment, STIC Ventures, Top Harvest Capital, DAYLI Partners, Pathway Investment, Loftyrock Investment, Korea Investment Partners, WOORI Venture Partners, KDB Silicon Valley, and ACVC.

• Temple, an Indian wearable that monitors cerebral blood flow for elite athletes, raised $54 million in seed funding at a post-money valuation of $190 million, with participation from Steadview Capital, Peak XV Partners, InfoEdge Ventures, and Dharana Capital.

• Ease Health, a New York-based CRM, EHR, and RCM platform for behavioral health providers, raised $41 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz.

• KeyCare, a Chicago-based Epic-integrated virtual care platform for health systems, raised $27.4 million in new funding led by HealthX Ventures, with participation from 8VC, LRVHealth, BOLD Capital Partners, Ikigai Venture Partners, Edge Ventures, and University of Chicago Ventures.

• Third Way Health, a Los Angeles-based AI platform for medical practice front-office and revenue cycle management, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Health Velocity Capital.

• BrainCheck, an Austin-based cognitive assessment and care platform, raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Next Coast Ventures, with participation from S3 Ventures and UPMC Enterprises.

• Tamarind Bio, a San Francisco-based AI drug discovery platform, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Dimension Capital, with participation from Y Combinator.

• Oska Health, a Frankfurt-based platform combining AI and personal health coaches for high-risk chronic disease patients, raised €11 million in seed funding co-led by Capricorn Partners and SwissHealth Ventures, with participation from Revent, Calm Storm, LBBW Venture Capital, BMH, GoHub Ventures, and Aurum Impact.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• GROPYUS, a Vienna-based modular timber-hybrid construction company, raised €100 million in new funding from Semapa Next and Practical Venture Capital.

• Chariot Defense, a defense technology company developing battlefield power systems, raised $34 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from DCVC, LMNT, Marlinspike, Overmatch, Shield Capital, Ensemble, Trenches Capital, General Catalyst, and XYZ.

• NODA AI, an Austin-based orchestration platform for coordinating autonomous military systems, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Booz Allen Ventures, Draper Associates, Bloomberg Beta, and Alumni Ventures.

• Bregal Sagemount raised $3.5 billion for its fifth flagship fund.

• Blackstone is planning to launch a publicly traded acquisition company focused on fully leased, operational AI data centers, per Bloomberg.

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