S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of global private equity news stories and more published throughout the week.
Private equity investment in South Korea fell to its lowest total in at least five years during a turbulent period for Asia-Pacific's fifth-largest economy.
Private equity and venture capital deal value in South Korea declined 39% to $8.58 billion in 2025 from $14.03 billion in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. It was the lowest annual total since at least 2020.
Overall M&A activity was slow in South Korea from December 2024 through June 2025, a period marked by political upheaval. Former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law Dec. 3, 2024, and although the order was quickly lifted, the effects continued to reverberate for months in South Korea's economy.
Private equity investment activity picked up in the second half of 2025, according to Jin-Won Kim, a South Korea-based partner with KPMG. But firms are also keeping a close eye on the potential regulatory fallout after South Korea-based MBK Partners was targeted by investigators earlier this year for alleged fraud in relation to portfolio company Homeplus Co. Ltd., a discount retailer.
Read more about the decline in private equity investment in South Korea in 2025.
CHART OF THE WEEK: Limited partners' expanding VC mandates
⮞ US-based pension funds' cumulative venture capital mandate increased 39% to $9.25 billion in 2025 from $6.66 billion in 2024, according to With Intelligence data.
⮞ European pension funds also increased their venture capital mandate in 2025, rising 64% to $485 million in 2025 from $296.1 million in 2024.
⮞ The high-risk, high-reward asset class has a firm foothold in institutional investor portfolios, but it is also contending with the uncertain impact of AI on software firms and the wider technology sector.
TOP DEALS
– A consortium led by EQT AB (publ) and BlackRock Inc.'s Global Infrastructure Management LLC agreed to acquire electric utility company AES Corp. for $15 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of about $33.4 billion, including assumed debt. The consortium includes California Public Employees' Retirement System and Qatar Investment Authority. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are financial advisers to AES on the deal, while Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell were legal advisers to the company. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Citi are the buyers' financial advisers, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett were their legal advisers.
– Thoma Bravo LP agreed to buy third-party logistics provider WWEX Group from an investor group comprising CVC Capital Partners PLC's CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII, Providence Equity Partners LLC, Ridgemont Equity Partners and PSG Equity LLC. As part of the deal, WWEX will merge with Thoma Bravo's existing portfolio company, Auctane Inc. The sellers will retain a minority position in the combined company. J.P. Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment Bank are financial advisers to WWEX. Latham & Watkins LLP is legal adviser to WWEX and CVC. Kirkland & Ellis is legal adviser to Thoma Bravo and Auctane.
– Bain Capital LP agreed to acquire a majority stake in Sweden-based Tingstad Group AB, a distributor of nonfood consumer products, for an undisclosed amount. Bain was advised by Jefferies, Danske Bank, Kirkland & Ellis and Advokatfirman Vinge. Tingstad was advised by DNB Carnegie Investment Bank AB and Setterwalls Advokatbyrå AB.
TOP FUNDRAISING
– Apollo Global Management Inc. seeks to raise $25 billion for its 11th flagship private equity fund, With Intelligence reported. Apollo Investment Fund XI LP will focus on control equity, minority stake, structured equity and equity-linked credit opportunities.
– Bregal Sagemount raised $3.5 billion at the final close of the Bregal Sagemount V fund. The firm invests in sectors including software, information and data services, fintech, and digital infrastructure. Kirkland & Ellis was legal adviser to Bregal Sagemount.
– Symphony Technology Group LLC (STG) raised more than $1.3 billion for its STG Allegro II fund, exceeding its $950 million target. The fund will invest in lower midmarket software companies. Evercore's private funds group was STG's fundraising adviser and global placement agent, while Ropes & Gray LLP was fund counsel.
– O2 Investment Partners LP secured $670 million at the final close of O2 Investment Partners Fund V. The firm invests in North American lower-middle-market businesses. Metric Point Capital was the fundraising adviser, and Kirkland & Ellis was legal counsel.
MIDDLE-MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
– Waterland Private Equity Investments BV acquired Cooper Turner Beck, a UK-based provider of fastening solutions for the energy, power generation and construction sectors, from Watermill Group. Baird was financial adviser to Watermill on the deal, while Jasso Lopez and CMS were its legal advisers.
– Arlington Capital Partners LLC sold UK-based Forged Solutions Group Ltd., which supplies precision forgings for aerospace, defense and space applications, to JF Lehman and Co. LLC for an undisclosed sum. Goldman Sachs and Perella Weinberg were financial advisers to Forged Solutions on the deal, while Sheppard Mullin was its legal adviser.
– Axcel Management A/S struck a deal to purchase Sangro Medical Service GmbH, a distributor and logistics provider in the German homecare market, from GHD GesundHeits GmbH Deutschland.
FOCUS ON: CALIFORNIA PENSION FUND'S PRIVATE EQUITY PLAY
Pension fund California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) allocated $9 billion to its private equity strategy in 2026, With Intelligence reported.
The limited partner seeks to deploy $6 billion into primary funds and $3 billion into coinvestments.
CalSTRS' allocation to private equity this year is higher than the $6.8 billion that the pension fund committed to the asset class in 2025.
As of Jan. 31, private equity accounted for $57 billion, or 14.4% of CalSTRS' total portfolio, according to the report.
With Intelligence is a part of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
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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.
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