Highlights:
- US Attracts $545.1 Billion in PE Investment: The US leads with significant private equity (PE) investment, while the EMA region sees the largest single deal with Intertek at $14.6 billion.
- Soft Mid-Year Global PE Exit Volume: The global exit volume stands at 1,315, marking the lowest exit pace in over a decade.
27 July 2026
The global PE market displayed resilience in Q2’26, achieving a mid-year total of $1 trillion from 9,294 deals. Although both investment and deal volumes have seen minor declines over the past twelve months—falling from $2.4 trillion to $2.3 trillion and from 21,060 to 20,105—robust deal values indicate that investors are prioritizing high-value, high-conviction deals amidst ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, as noted in KPMG’s Q2’26 Pulse of Private Equity report.
Subdued global PE exit flow indicated 1,315 exits in the first half of the year, reflecting a pace unobserved in more than a decade. Nevertheless, exit values were stronger, recording $570 billion at mid-year compared to $1.2 trillion throughout 2025. The Q2’26 twelve-month rolling exit value reached $1.23 trillion, marking the second-best outcome in four years after Q4’25, with acquisition-based exit activity making up $262.5 billion across 659 exits.
In terms of geographic distribution, the Americas drew the largest share of global PE investment in the first half of 2026, attracting $579.2 billion across 4,319 deals. Within this, the US accounted for $545 billion across 3,926 deals. The EMA region followed with $343.2 billion over 4,067 deals, while ASPAC attracted $67.9 billion from 639 deals.
Despite higher investment in the Americas, the EMA region secured three of the four largest global PE deals in Q2’26, including EQT’s $14.6 billion acquisition of UK-based Intertek Group, Bain’s $8.6 billion buyout of Germany’s Everllence, and the take-private deal of Italy’s Recordati for $6.6 billion by CVC Capital Partners and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. In contrast, the largest deal in the Americas was the $10 billion launch of US-based Helix Digital Infrastructure by KKR, with the largest ASPAC deal being the secondary buyout of Australia’s I-MED Radiology Network.
Sector-wise, the technology, media, and telecommunications sector continued to dominate global PE investment, attracting $354.7 billion at mid-year, followed by industrial manufacturing at $154 billion. Notably, the energy and natural resources sector is on course for a record high with $149.2 billion invested so far this year.
