Three Takeaways in Private Equity
The PE market is shifting — and secondaries are leading the way.
PwC’s 2026 Global M&A Trends report is out. Three themes stand out for anyone watching private equity closely: fewer deals, but larger in size; increased use of AI to support transactions; and secondaries leading the way forward. As for secondaries, the exit backlog is real — and secondaries are becoming mainstream, providing a much-needed pressure valve for the industry. Specifically, global PE portfolio inventory hit ~32k companies by end of 2025, up from 29k just a year prior. With IPO windows uneven and strategic buyers more selective, GP-led continuation vehicles and sponsor-to-sponsor secondaries are now the dominant exit route. Secondaries are becoming a way that capital gets returned to LPs, setting the stage for new fundraises.
This quote from PwC’s report states: “Sponsor-to-sponsor deals, GP-led continuation vehicles, and other secondary structures are providing liquidity where traditional exit routes remain constrained, allowing managers to extend ownership of select assets while returning capital to limited partners (LPs). These structures are increasingly being used not only to manage timing risk but also to support longer value creation horizons for assets requiring sustained investment or operational transformation.”
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