Happy Monday everyone

21–27 September, 2026

Private markets delivered another busy week, with institutional capital moving across private equity, infrastructure, private credit, real estate and equipment finance.

From QIA and J.P. Morgan’s $5 billion U.S. middle-market initiative and Schroders Capital’s $1.3 billion co-investment fund to KKR’s new $350 million equipment-finance platform, the latest activity shows how large investors are continuing to diversify the ways they deploy private capital.

At the same time, deals involving logistics, industrial assets, healthcare and infrastructure continued to highlight where investors are looking for long-term growth and recurring cash flows.

Here are the key stories from the week.

KKR is putting $350 million behind a new equipment-finance platform, Akrapoint Commercial Capital, expanding its private-credit strategy into financing the physical equipment used by small and middle-market businesses across the U.S.
The new platform will provide financing for vocational assets, specialty trailers and industrial equipment, targeting businesses across manufacturing, energy and power, sanitation and waste services, construction, transportation and logistics.

The transaction is important because KKR is not simply providing capital to an existing lender. It is building a new specialist financing platform around an experienced equipment-finance team.
The strategy sits within KKR's broader Asset Based Finance business, which was established in 2016. KKR says the business now manages more than $91 billion in assets across areas including consumer and mortgage finance, commercial finance, hard assets and contractual cash flows.
Equipment finance gives KKR exposure to loans backed by identifiable physical assets. This can provide a different risk profile from traditional unsecured corporate lending.
For borrowers, the platform can provide another source of financing for expensive equipment without relying entirely on traditional bank lending.

This week’s private-markets activity covered a broad range of sectors, from environmental infrastructure and AI computing to logistics, student housing, equipment finance, healthcare, sports and consumer businesses. Here are the Top Deals of the Week.

Blackstone and EQT Group have completed the acquisition of Urbaser, a global environmental infrastructure company, from Platinum Equity in a transaction valued at approximately $6.6 billion (€5.6 billion).
Urbaser provides waste collection, street cleaning, water management and waste-treatment services, serving more than 60 million people globally with more than 38,000 employees.

The transaction puts a major global environmental-services platform into the hands of two large private-market investors and highlights continued institutional appetite for essential infrastructure.

Blackstone and EQT will look to build on Urbaser’s existing operations and continue developing the business across its international markets.

Blackstone and Alphabet’s AI cloud venture, Crux AI, are reportedly securing a $22 billion loan from a group of 10 banks.
Blackstone has committed approximately $5 billion in equity, while Google is contributing AI chips, software and services. Crux AI plans to bring its first 500 megawatts of capacity online by 2027.

The financing shows the enormous amount of capital required to build the physical infrastructure supporting the AI economy. For private markets, the opportunity increasingly extends beyond software into data centres, chips, power and specialised computing infrastructure.

Crux AI is expected to continue developing its AI infrastructure and bringing additional computing capacity online.

EQT Real Estate has acquired a Southern California industrial portfolio from Rexford Industrial Realty for approximately $1.2 billion.
The portfolio consists of 22 industrial properties across 32 buildings, covering approximately 5.2 million square feet. The properties are spread across five Southern California submarkets and were approximately 96% leased to 36 tenants.

The transaction demonstrates continued institutional demand for large-scale logistics and industrial assets in major U.S. markets and gives EQT significant scale in one of the country’s most important logistics regions.

EQT will integrate the portfolio into its industrial real estate strategy, while Rexford is using the proceeds as part of its broader portfolio realignment.

KKR and Mirastar have completed the acquisition of a portfolio of eight logistics properties across the UK from Ares Management.
The portfolio covers approximately 2.7 million square feet and includes fully occupied properties across the Midlands, Southeast and North of England, including logistics hubs such as Corby, Doncaster, Stoke-on-Trent and Milton Keynes.

The transaction highlights continued institutional demand for strategically located warehouses as investors look for assets supported by supply-chain demand and long-term tenant requirements.

KKR and Mirastar are expected to continue expanding their UK logistics portfolio through acquisitions and active asset management.

Partners Group and Aboria Capital have completed the acquisition of a 1,570-bed purpose-built student accommodation portfolio from HSBC Asset Management for approximately £165 million.
The five properties are located across Cambridge, Liverpool, London and Newcastle and were approximately 98.2% leased for the 2026–27 academic year.

The transaction provides institutional investors with exposure to established university markets where student accommodation demand remains strong, while the high occupancy rate provides an existing income base.

The new owners plan to upgrade bedrooms and amenities across the portfolio and pursue further opportunities in UK student housing.

KKR is putting $350 million behind a new equipment-finance platform, Akrapoint Commercial Capital.
The platform will provide financing to small and middle-market businesses in the U.S., focusing on equipment transactions generally ranging from $250,000 to $5 million across sectors including transportation, construction and manufacturing.

The launch shows how private capital is expanding deeper into asset-backed finance, providing financing against physical assets that can serve as collateral.

Akrapoint will build its origination platform and expand relationships with U.S. small and middle-market businesses.

Bain Capital has agreed to acquire SOLitude Lake Management and its Vertex Aquatic Solutions division from Rentokil Initial for approximately $230 million.
SOLitude provides lake, pond and aquatic management services across the United States.

The transaction is another example of private equity targeting specialised business-services companies operating in fragmented markets, where opportunities can exist for geographic expansion, operational improvements and consolidation.

The transaction is expected to close in early Q4 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and J.P. Morgan are joining forces on a new $5 billion private-markets initiative focused on U.S. middle-market companies.
The initiative forms part of a broader investment partnership between the two institutions targeting approximately $20 billion in total investments.

The partnership combines sovereign capital with a major global financial institution to target one of the largest segments of the U.S. private economy and highlights continued institutional appetite for middle-market opportunities.

The programme is expected to begin identifying and deploying capital across U.S. middle-market businesses.

Bain Capital’s special situations team and Cyrus Capital Partners are exploring a potential sale of PizzaExpress, the UK restaurant chain.
The owners are working with investment bank Rothschild to assess potential buyers. The business could be valued at up to approximately £500 million, according to the Financial Times.

The potential sale would give investors another look at the value of a well-known consumer brand following its ownership and restructuring under private capital.

The process is still at an early stage, and there is no guarantee that a transaction will be completed.

From AI and technology to real estate debt and global mid-market private equity, this week’s biggest fundraising stories show where institutional capital is being positioned next.

Deal Details: Bessemer Venture Partners raised $5.75 billion in a single close, with $1.75 billion allocated to seed and early-stage investing and $4 billion dedicated to growth investments.
Why It Matters: The raise gives Bessemer substantial capital across the company lifecycle, from backing startups at the earliest stages to investing in companies that have already reached significant scale. Bessemer said it has backed more than 260 AI-native companies since 2022 and invested more than $3 billion across the AI stack.
What Next: The new capital will be deployed across technology and AI opportunities, with Bessemer continuing to invest from seed through growth.

Deal Details: Real estate investment manager PCCP raised a combined $5 billion across its latest equity and credit vehicles, giving the firm fresh capital for opportunistic real estate investments and credit strategies.
Why It Matters: The combined raise demonstrates the continued role of private capital across different parts of the real-estate capital stack, from equity ownership to lending.
What Next: PCCP will deploy the capital across U.S. real estate opportunities, with the strategy expected to target areas where property owners require fresh equity or financing.

Deal Details: Cheyne Capital raised approximately £3 billion for its European real estate debt strategy, adding substantial new lending capacity to its platform.
Why It Matters: European property markets continue to create financing requirements as owners refinance existing debt and seek alternative sources of capital.
What Next: Cheyne is expected to deploy the capital through real estate lending opportunities across the UK and continental Europe, targeting senior and structured debt investments.

Deal Details: Blackstone launched BXPM — Blackstone Private Markets Fund on September 24. Importantly, Blackstone did not disclose a fundraising amount for the launch, so BXPM should not be presented as a conventional fundraise. It is a new perpetual private-markets strategy offering eligible non-U.S. investors a single allocation across Blackstone’s private equity, infrastructure, real estate and credit platforms.
Why It Matters: BXPM creates a new channel for investors to access multiple Blackstone private-market strategies through one vehicle.
What Next: The focus will be on expanding access to Blackstone’s perpetual private-market strategies, particularly among eligible investors outside the U.S. The launch could become an important new capital-raising channel, although Blackstone has not disclosed an initial target or amount raised.

Deal Details: Advent International is targeting approximately $3 billion for its first dedicated global mid-market fund. Unlike the first three entries, this is a fundraising target rather than a completed close.
Why It Matters: The strategy represents an expansion of Advent’s platform into dedicated mid-market investing alongside its larger global buyout strategy.
What Next: Advent is expected to build the fund around mid-market opportunities where its sector expertise and operating capabilities can be applied to smaller businesses. The $3 billion figure should therefore be treated as a target until a final close is announced.

Deal Details: Schroders Capital closed its fourth global direct co-investment fund at $1.3 billion, making it the firm's largest closed-ended commingled private equity fund to date.
Why It Matters: The fund strengthens Schroders’ ability to participate in private equity transactions alongside sponsors, with a particular focus on small and mid-market companies.
What Next: The strategy will invest primarily across Europe and the U.S., with selective growth investments in Asia, giving Schroders additional capital to pursue co-investment opportunities globally.