Today's Private Equity Pulse
Blackstone closes record $13.1B Asia private‑equity fund
Blackstone announced the closing of its third Asia private‑equity vehicle, Blackstone Capital Partners Asia III, at $13.1 billion, surpassing its $10 billion target and more than doubling the capital of its predecessor. The fund is the firm’s largest Asia‑focused raise and Blackstone has deployed over $7 billion across 12 deals in the region in the past two years.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Metatron Private Equity acquires Green Circuits Inc.
Ridgepost Capital-Owned Qualitas Funds Expands to Secondaries, Eyes €100m Hard Cap for Dedicated Fund
Madrid‑based Qualitas Funds, a fund‑of‑funds specialist owned by Ridgepost Capital, has launched its first dedicated secondary‑market vehicle with a €100 million hard cap. The new vehicle aims to acquire stakes in existing private‑equity funds, providing liquidity to limited partners and expanding Qualitas’ product suite. This move marks Qualitas’ strategic entry into the European secondaries space, complementing its primary fund‑of‑funds platform. The fund targets seasoned GP portfolios and intends to close the cap within the next twelve months.
Benefit Street Partners on Private Credit’s Third Act: Scale, Flexibility and Consolidation
Benefit Street Partners argues that private credit is entering its third act, defined by greater scale, operational flexibility, and industry consolidation. Institutional investors are allocating more capital to alternative credit for its excess returns and diversification benefits. However, they are...
CP Axtra's RM1.66B Deal Consolidates Malaysia's Grocery Market
The Malaysian grocery landscape just changed forever. 🚨 Thai retail giant CP Axtra (the power behind Lotus’s) is officially acquiring 100% of The Food Purveyor for RM1.66 billion. 💰 By Q4 2026, the group will control 120 stores nationwide, blending the scale...
M&A Activism: What to Expect in 2026
M&A‑focused activist campaigns surged in late 2025 and are projected to intensify throughout 2026. Activists are zeroing in on cash‑rich small‑ and mid‑cap public companies, especially those overlooked by the AI boom but with solid fundamentals. They are increasingly partnering...
Covenant Trends – 3/2/2026
On March 2, 2026, The Lead Left published its latest Covenant Trends report, highlighting the “Accordion Inside Maturity” covenant pattern. The release includes a detailed chart and a downloadable Excel file (66.8 KB) containing the underlying data. The dataset is intended...
The Pulse of Private Equity – 3/2/2026
The latest PitchBook data shows median enterprise‑value‑to‑revenue (EV/revenue) multiples for North American and European private‑equity buyouts of $2.5 billion or more climbed to 5.5 times in 2025, up from 4.7 times in 2015. After hitting a trough in 2023, valuations rebounded to levels...
PDI Picks – 3/2/2026
The inaugural private‑markets performance quarterly report highlights how the COVID‑19 pandemic generated a rare dislocation that let investors acquire high‑quality assets at steep discounts. Those opportunistic purchases translated into robust internal‑rate‑of‑return (IRR) outcomes across the 2019‑2024 interval. The report’s rolling...
How Nvidia Turned a Steal of a Deal Into Its Secret Weapon
Nvidia leveraged its 2020 $7 billion acquisition of Mellanox to transform its networking business into a major growth engine. In the most recent fiscal quarter the company reported $11 billion in networking revenue, a 263 % increase year‑over‑year, positioning it as the world’s...
Brookfield Asset Management Announces $1 Billion Commercial Paper Program
Brookfield Asset Management announced a new private‑placement commercial paper program with a $1 billion ceiling. The unsecured notes will be issued on a short‑term basis to diversify the firm’s funding mix and bolster its balance sheet. Proceeds are slated for general...
Investors Pull $3.7bn From Blackstone Evergreen
Blackstone’s evergreen private‑debt vehicle, BCRED, experienced a $3.7 billion outflow as investors sought liquidity. In response, the fund raised its quarterly redemption limit from 5 % to 7 % of assets. The withdrawals reflect heightened stress in the leveraged loan market and growing...
Pike Street-Backed US BioTek Merges with NutriPath Pathology
US BioTek Laboratories, a Shoreline, Washington functional lab specializing in advanced immunological and integrative diagnostics, announced a merger with NutriPath Pathology. The deal is backed by private‑equity firm Pike Street Capital, signaling a strategic consolidation in the clinical diagnostics space....
Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain Firm Aeromed Snags Investment From Gemspring
Supply chain firm Aeromed has secured an investment from private‑equity firm Gemspring. The capital will back Aeromed’s recent acquisitions of HITEK Electronic Materials Ltd., NorcaTec LLC, and Kit Pack Company, Inc., expanding its capabilities across aerospace and defense components. The...
Investor Intentions: Fondo Pensione BNL Issues RFP for Evergreen Private Equity
Italian private pension fund Fondo Pensione BNL has issued a request for proposals to allocate roughly €10 million into evergreen private equity vehicles. The RFP focuses on both closed‑end and open‑end funds domiciled within the European Union, reflecting a strategic shift...
A High Bar for Evergreen Valuations
Evergreen private equity funds are under increasing pressure to maintain rigorous, real‑time valuations. General partners’ internal marks now feed directly into faster net asset value (NAV) calculations, accelerating reporting cycles. These valuations are bound by heightened legal obligations, requiring strict...
New Data‑Driven LOI Template Boosts Lower‑Middle‑Market Deal Success
We just released our 2026 Lower-Middle-Market LOI Template. Built from 500+ deals and $1.6B+ in closed (and busted) transactions. It’s designed to reduce retrades, surface deal killers early, and increase close probability. Download it here: https://smblaw.group/services/mergers-and-acquisitions Scroll to the middle of the page to access...
The 2026 Fastest-Growing Firms
Accounting Today’s 2026 Fastest‑Growing Firms list shows private‑equity‑backed firms dominate, with 23 of the 26 top performers receiving PE investment or platform support. Overall, 41% of the firms posted double‑digit growth, while 42 firms grew more than 20% year‑over‑year. Alan & James...
ArcLight Names Gary Lambert as Senior Advisor
ArcLight Capital Partners announced the appointment of Gary Lambert as a senior advisor. Lambert previously served as CEO of Competitive Power Ventures, where he led multiple renewable energy transactions. His addition brings deep expertise in power generation financing and M&A....
CVs Now Established as Exit Route Alongside M&A and IPO: Moelis’s Hammer
Moelis & Co managing director Jeff Hammer announced at NEXUS 2026 that continuation vehicles (CVs) have become an established exit route for private equity general partners, alongside traditional M&A and IPO pathways. He attributed this shift to the growing specialization...
Brookfield’s David Nowak: Operational Improvements at Portcos Key; CCMP Capital Seeks to Sell a Commercial Facilities Service Provider
David Nowak, president of Brookfield Asset Management’s private‑equity arm, said operational improvements in portfolio companies will separate winners from losers in the sector. He stressed that post‑deal value creation, rather than just deal sourcing, is the decisive factor. Meanwhile, CCMP...
What Your Brand Signals to Buyers Before You Ever Speak
Middle‑market companies often overlook how their brand story shapes early buyer perception. A clear, coherent market narrative—supported by logical brand architecture—helps investors, partners, and customers quickly grasp the business’s value and growth potential. When the story aligns with evidence, it...
Acceptance of CVs Means Time Is Right for PE Entrants: New Mountain’s Costello
At PEI Group’s NEXUS conference, Neal Costello, co‑head of New Mountain Atlas, said the firm’s willingness to accept a high volume of CVs indicates a favorable environment for new private‑equity talent. He explained that New Mountain plans to differentiate by...
Chart of the Week: Clearing the Backlog
The latest Dealogic and Bain & Company chart shows a noticeable uptick in corporate exit activity across the United States and Europe during 2025. This rise signals that the backlog of stalled mergers and acquisitions is finally being cleared. Higher...
Why Private Equity Matters (Part Eight)
The article argues that private‑equity investors should concentrate on the United States rather than diversify internationally. It highlights the US market’s unmatched depth, efficiency, and transparency, noting that U.S. buyouts account for over half of global deal activity. The piece...
Flexibility to Invest Minority or Majority Drives Success
Talked to a small-cap private equity GP, and he said that from day one, they've always asked LPs for the flexibility to do both majority and minority investments... They’ve seen many great companies where the owners have clear reasons for not...
Software Buyout Lending Shows Near‑zero Default
No wonder direct lending to software buyouts was so popular. Out of 300+ loans that Blue Owl has made since inception, only one has defaulted. That one loan was to finance Vista Equity's $3.5 billion buyout of Pluralsight in 2021. Blue Owl...
What Two PE Exits Taught James About Winning as a CFO
In this episode, James Carver, a CFO with two private‑equity‑backed exits, walks through his career—from trading desks and investment banking to leading finance functions in mid‑market companies—and shares the operational and strategic levers that drove value in each sale. He...
Boring Success Gets 120 Views, Steak Grilling Gets Millions
There's an interview with a guy who quit his job and, with no prior experience, raised a $95 million to acquire 13+ "boring" niche businesses. Less than 120 views. Meanwhile, a gentleman grilling a wasabi-marinated A5 wagyu steak has over 7.5...
Dutch Insurer Achmea Pension & Life Hires CIO with Private Credit Focus
Achmea Pension & Life, a Dutch insurer, has appointed a new chief investment officer with a private‑credit focus. The hire coincides with a joint venture between Achmea and US private‑markets manager Sixth Street aimed at expanding and diversifying the insurer’s...
Family Office Roundtable 2026 - $124 Trillion Wealth Transfer, AI, & Private Markets
In this Family Office Roundtable, Ron and Wendy discuss the massive $124 trillion wealth transfer from baby boomers to the next generation and how family offices are adapting. They focus on AI’s disruptive role, highlighting platforms like Opto that can filter...
AI in Private Credit: Where It Actually Moves the Needle
Artificial intelligence is gaining traction in private credit as a productivity tool rather than a decision‑making replacement. The technology excels at extracting and structuring data from loan agreements, amendments, and financial statements, cutting down manual document handling. Oxane Partners stresses...
China Rebounds to Become Asia’s Busiest Buyout Market – Deloitte
China has reclaimed its position as Asia’s busiest buyout market, according to Deloitte’s latest private‑equity report. A surge in domestic and regional fund activity offset a decline in Western capital, driving a 28% increase in deal volume year‑over‑year. The market...
TalkTalk to Get £115m Funding Injection From Ares Management
TalkTalk secured a £115 million cash injection from Ares Management, comprising £65 million of senior debt and a £50 million short‑term facility to replace a £47 million debt due in March. The funding follows earlier capital raises of £235 million in December 2024 and £120 million...
InsideArbitrage Event Driven Monitor – March 3, 2026
The March 3 2026 InsideArbitrage Event‑Driven Monitor reports a flurry of high‑profile M&A activity, including Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT’s $33.4 billion acquisition of AES at a 13.2% discount and a co‑founder‑led consortium’s $3.9 billion purchase of Select Medical at a 10% premium. Pending...
![[Update & Reveal] John Wood Group: Buyer Lock-In via Lending Pays Off: Double-Digit Gains Since January](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!B5NZ!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32978d04-1cd9-421d-91c4-d4ab686c7abd_577x577.png)
[Update & Reveal] John Wood Group: Buyer Lock-In via Lending Pays Off: Double-Digit Gains Since January
John Wood Group’s merger with Sidara has cleared all antitrust and regulatory hurdles, confirming the buyer’s lock‑in strategy that began with a $250 million loan injection. The regulatory green light on March 3 triggered a share price rise to 28.70 pence, delivering double‑digit...
Co-Founder Robert Ortenzio-Led Consortium to Take Select Medical Private for $3.9 Billion
Select Medical Holdings agreed to be taken private for $3.9 billion by a consortium led by co‑founder Robert Ortenzio, senior executive Martin Jackson, and private‑equity firm WCAS. The deal offers $16.5 in cash per share, a 10% premium to the prior...
Consilium Introduces Insurance Policy Tailored for Private Equity Firms
Consilium, a specialty re/insurance broker, has launched a dedicated policy for private‑equity firms within its Professional & Executive Risks division. The product, crafted with in‑house legal counsel, covers professional liability, crime, directors‑and‑officers, cyber and portfolio‑company risks under a single solution....
Japanese Healthcare Pioneer Opens Sophomore Fund to Global LPs
Japanese healthcare private‑equity pioneer NPMI announced the launch of its second vehicle, NPMI Fund II. The fund is being pitched to global limited partners and could be up to six times larger than the inaugural fund, according to Private Equity...
RedBird Reshapes Streaming Landscape with Major Studio Deals
Friday: RedBird helps Paramount pry Warner Bros. away from Netflix. Monday: RedBird helps Artists Equity ink major streaming deal with Netflix.
Blackstone’s Jon Gray Offers SaaS Loans at 98¢
it’s your promotion year at Blackstone and Jon Gray calls and asks if you wanna buy some SaaS loans at 98 cents: https://t.co/7xdf7c8YNt https://t.co/CvnV13BVpL
With New DealRoom Features for Roll-Ups, Corp Dev Teams Can Eliminate Manual and Repetitive Tasks that Get in the Way...
DealRoom launched a Roll‑Up Bundle aimed at private‑equity‑backed companies that run multiple acquisitions simultaneously. The bundle adds Enhanced Permissions, Multi‑Room Updates, Template Rooms, and a Project Management Suite to automate repetitive M&A tasks. By centralizing access controls, standardizing deal rooms,...
Databricks Files Audited GAAPs, Signals IPO Preparation
Databricks today disclosed audited GAAP financials. That's the sort of thing a company does when it's prepping to go public.
![How to Improve Your M&A Process Using Agile [Must Read]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5a710020b54d350001949426/5e975c0ed4e0eadb8569babe_Artboard%201-100.avif)
How to Improve Your M&A Process Using Agile [Must Read]
Kison Patel’s new book *Agile M&A* proposes a project‑management framework that brings responsiveness, collaboration, and continuous improvement to the traditionally rigid M&A process. In a recent interview, Patel explains how techniques such as backlogs, short stand‑up meetings, and cross‑functional squads...
How DealRoom Pipeline Prevents Deals From Slipping Through the Cracks
DealRoom Pipeline introduces a unified platform for M&A deal management, consolidating emails, documents, notes, and task tracking in one view. The solution offers customizable Kanban or spreadsheet‑style pipelines, allowing teams to filter deals by priority, region, or financial metrics. Integrated...
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When to Work With Private Sellers Versus Advisors in M&A
National Express has completed roughly 30 acquisitions of family‑owned transportation firms, largely by contacting private sellers directly. The company balances the benefits of broker‑mediated deals—more organized processes—with the flexibility of unrepresented negotiations, where early valuation ranges help manage inflated seller...
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Top 10 DealRoom Platform Tips to Elevate Your Dealmaking
DealRoom released a practical guide outlining ten actionable tips to streamline M&A deal management. The advice ranges from creating reusable template rooms and assigning stakeholder followers to leveraging dynamic work‑lists, audit logs, and automated dashboard reports. By optimizing document handling,...