S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of global private equity news stories and more published throughout the week.
Global millionaires and billionaires collectively hold tens of trillions in investable capital, yet only a sliver is invested in alternative assets like private equity. Individual investors who do have private equity in their portfolios are typically ultrahigh net worth individuals.
Fund managers think evergreen funds are the way to change that. With lower investment minimums and more frequent liquidity opportunities than the closed-end private market funds powered by institutional capital, evergreens hold the promise of unlocking private markets for retail investors.
That said, new products are not exactly flooding the market. Fifteen evergreen private market funds launched globally in 2024, the fewest in at least five years, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of Preqin Pro data.
Headwinds include the complexity of operating funds with a large retail base — as opposed to a relatively small group of large institutional investors — and regulations meant to protect less sophisticated investors from risky private market investments. But fund managers aiming to tap that vast retail market continue to find reasons for optimism, including the recent approval of a new US SEC chair, Paul Atkins, widely seen as favoring a lighter regulatory touch.
Read more about the decline in evergreen private markets fund launches in 2024.
CHART OF THE WEEK: PE investment in metals and mining
⮞ Private equity- and venture capital-backed investment in the metals and mining industry totaled $152.8 million globally in the first quarter, down significantly from the $4.35 billion recorded a year earlier, according to Market Intelligence data.
⮞ Still, the investment outlook remains positive due to rising demand for minerals tied to the global energy transition.
⮞ Headwinds to that outlook include rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China.
TOP DEALS
– TPG Capital LP agreed to buy Sabre Corp.'s hospitality solutions business in a cash deal valued at $1.1 billion.
– CVC Capital Partners PLC's CVC Growth Funds and Gro Capital A/S' Gro Fund II K/S agreed to sell Denmark-based software company Omada A/S to Gro Fund III K/S and Kirk Kapital A/S.
– TA Associates Management LP agreed to make a strategic minority investment in private equity secondaries firm Kline Hill Partners LP. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter.
TOP FUNDRAISING
– Escalate Capital Partners raised $350 million for its fifth fund. Escalate Capital V LP has already deployed $35 million across two investments.
– Allied Industrial Partners LLC raised $300 million at the close of its inaugural fund. Allied Industrial Partners I-A LP and Allied Industrial Partners I-B LP will invest in lower-middle-market industrial companies.
– eQ Asset Management Ltd. obtained $168 million for eQ PE XVII US LP. The fund invests in private equity funds targeting small and medium-sized companies in the US and Canada.
MIDDLE-MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
– HGGC LLC acquired Equity Methods LLC, an executive compensation advisory firm. The transaction marks an exit for Montage Partners Inc.
– Backcast Partners Management LLC made a strategic growth investment in Dominion Packaging Inc. Backcast provided the carton maker with senior secured debt with warrants and convertible preferred equity as part of the deal.
– Kohlberg & Co. LLC made a majority investment in Resa Power LLC. Investcorp Holdings BSC sold its stake in the power systems company.
FOCUS ON: PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT IN CYBERSECURITY
Identity security companies — cybersecurity companies that verify identity and prevent unauthorized access — have secured a significant amount of private capital.
Persona Identities Inc. raised $200 million in a series D funding round led by The Founders Fund LLC and Ribbit Management Co. LLC. Firms including Bond Capital Management LP, First Round Capital Management LLC and Index Ventures participated in the round.
Veza Technologies Inc. closed a $108 million series D investment round led by New Enterprise Associates Inc. The round was joined by Atlassian Ventures, Workday Ventures Inc., Snowflake Ventures, Accel Partners, GV Management Co. LLC, True Venture Management LLC, NVP Associates LLC, Ballistic Ventures Alpha LLC and Blackstone Innovations LLC.
This year is set to exceed the previous year's total. Private equity- and venture capital-backed investment in cybersecurity totaled $8.72 billion in the first four months of 2025, compared with $9.11 billion in the same period in 2024, according to Market Intelligence data.
The median deal value in the year through April 30 stood at $13 million, up from $11 million in 2024.
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For further private equity deals, read our latest "In Play" report, which looks at potential private equity-backed M&A, including rumored transactions, each week.
For private credit news, see our latest private credit newsletter issued twice per month.
