Key Takeaways
- • CVC Capital Partners closed Secondary Opportunities Fund VI at $10 billion, nearly doubling its predecessor ($5.8 billion in 2023) and representing the largest secondaries fund raised by a European manager in 2026 to date.
- • The fund marks a significant milestone in CVC's secondaries expansion strategy, with Fund VI at nearly 3.7x the size of Fund IV ($2.7 billion closed in 2019), reflecting accelerating investor demand for the strategy.
- • Global secondaries fundraising reached $140 billion in 2025; year-to-date 2026 has captured $54.3 billion across 49 funds, with European funds accounting for $21.4 billion of that total across 13 vehicles.
- • Generalist PE firms are increasingly allocating to secondaries as traditional exit markets slow, creating liquidity constraints that drive investor appetite for secondary portfolio acquisitions and continuation vehicles.
- • CVC has strengthened its secondaries platform through strategic partnerships, including a $1.1 billion portfolio acquisition from M&G Investments (North American mid-market PE interests), a $1.5 billion evergreen platform seeded with AIG capital, and a dedicated global credit secondaries platform launched in November 2025.
Summary
CVC Capital Partners has successfully closed its sixth global secondaries fund at $10 billion, underscoring robust institutional appetite for secondary private equity opportunities amid a challenging primary market environment. Secondary Opportunities Fund VI's size nearly doubles the firm's previous vehicle, which raised $5.8 billion in 2023, and represents a sustained acceleration in capital deployment—the 2023 fund was itself twice the size of Fund IV, which closed at $2.7 billion in 2019. The new fund is the largest secondaries vehicle closed by a European manager so far in 2026, according to PitchBook data.
The fundraising reflects broader market momentum in secondaries as a distinct asset class. Globally, secondaries fundraising totaled $140 billion in 2025, with 2026 year-to-date activity tracking at $54.3 billion across 49 funds. European-domiciled funds have captured $21.4 billion of that 2026 total across 13 vehicles, positioning the region as a substantial capital source. Other major European managers including Clipway (which raised a $6.4 billion debut secondaries fund) and Partners Group (with a $5.5 billion infrastructure secondaries programme) are similarly capitalizing on institutional investor demand.
The shift toward secondaries by generalist PE firms reflects structural market dynamics. Traditional exit volumes have slowed considerably, creating liquidity pressures that compel investors to pursue secondary acquisitions of existing PE portfolio interests rather than waiting for primary fund realizations. CVC has actively positioned itself across this landscape through several strategic initiatives: a $1.1 billion secondary portfolio acquisition from M&G Investments targeting primarily North American mid-market buyout fund interests, a $1.5 billion evergreen secondaries platform seeded with capital from AIG's existing PE holdings, and the November 2025 launch of a dedicated global credit secondaries platform. These moves demonstrate CVC's multi-pronged approach to capturing secondary opportunities across geographies, fund strategies, and LP bases.
## DETAILED SUMMARY
CVC Capital Partners has successfully closed its sixth global secondaries fund at $10 billion, underscoring robust institutional appetite for secondary private equity opportunities amid a challenging primary market environment. Secondary Opportunities Fund VI nearly doubles the firm's previous vehicle, which raised $5.8 billion in 2023, and represents a sustained acceleration in capital deployment—the 2023 fund was itself twice the size of Fund IV, which closed at $2.7 billion in 2019. The new fund is the largest secondaries vehicle closed by a European manager in 2026 to date, according to PitchBook data.
Global secondaries fundraising reached $140 billion in 2025, with 2026 year-to-date activity tracking at $54.3 billion across 49 funds. European-domiciled funds have captured $21.4 billion of that total across 13 vehicles, positioning the region as a substantial capital source. Other major European managers including Clipway (which raised a $6.4 billion debut secondaries fund) and Partners Group (with a $5.5 billion infrastructure secondaries programme) are similarly capitalizing on institutional investor demand.
The shift toward secondaries by generalist PE firms reflects structural market dynamics. Traditional exit volumes have slowed considerably, creating liquidity pressures that compel investors to pursue secondary acquisitions of existing PE portfolio interests rather than waiting for primary fund realizations. CVC has strategically positioned itself across this landscape through a $1.1 billion secondary portfolio acquisition from M&G Investments targeting North American mid-market buyout fund interests, a $1.5 billion evergreen secondaries platform seeded with capital from AIG's existing PE holdings, and the November 2025 launch of a dedicated global credit secondaries platform. These initiatives demonstrate CVC's multi-pronged approach to capturing secondary opportunities across geographies, fund strategies, and LP bases.
The fundraising reflects broader market momentum in secondaries as a distinct asset class. Globally, secondaries fundraising totaled $140 billion in 2025, with 2026 year-to-date activity tracking at $54.3 billion across 49 funds. European-domiciled funds have captured $21.4 billion of that 2026 total across 13 vehicles, positioning the region as a substantial capital source. Other major European managers including Clipway (which raised a $6.4 billion debut secondaries fund) and Partners Group (with a $5.5 billion infrastructure secondaries programme) are similarly capitalizing on institutional investor demand.
The shift toward secondaries by generalist PE firms reflects structural market dynamics. Traditional exit volumes have slowed considerably, creating liquidity pressures that compel investors to pursue secondary acquisitions of existing PE portfolio interests rather than waiting for primary fund realizations. CVC has actively positioned itself across this landscape through several strategic initiatives: a $1.1 billion secondary portfolio acquisition from M&G Investments targeting primarily North American mid-market buyout fund interests, a $1.5 billion evergreen secondaries platform seeded with capital from AIG's existing PE holdings, and the November 2025 launch of a dedicated global credit secondaries platform. These moves demonstrate CVC's multi-pronged approach to capturing secondary opportunities across geographies, fund strategies, and LP bases.
## DETAILED SUMMARY
CVC Capital Partners has successfully closed its sixth global secondaries fund at $10 billion, underscoring robust institutional appetite for secondary private equity opportunities amid a challenging primary market environment. Secondary Opportunities Fund VI nearly doubles the firm's previous vehicle, which raised $5.8 billion in 2023, and represents a sustained acceleration in capital deployment—the 2023 fund was itself twice the size of Fund IV, which closed at $2.7 billion in 2019. The new fund is the largest secondaries vehicle closed by a European manager in 2026 to date, according to PitchBook data.
Global secondaries fundraising reached $140 billion in 2025, with 2026 year-to-date activity tracking at $54.3 billion across 49 funds. European-domiciled funds have captured $21.4 billion of that total across 13 vehicles, positioning the region as a substantial capital source. Other major European managers including Clipway (which raised a $6.4 billion debut secondaries fund) and Partners Group (with a $5.5 billion infrastructure secondaries programme) are similarly capitalizing on institutional investor demand.
The shift toward secondaries by generalist PE firms reflects structural market dynamics. Traditional exit volumes have slowed considerably, creating liquidity pressures that compel investors to pursue secondary acquisitions of existing PE portfolio interests rather than waiting for primary fund realizations. CVC has strategically positioned itself across this landscape through a $1.1 billion secondary portfolio acquisition from M&G Investments targeting North American mid-market buyout fund interests, a $1.5 billion evergreen secondaries platform seeded with capital from AIG's existing PE holdings, and the November 2025 launch of a dedicated global credit secondaries platform. These initiatives demonstrate CVC's multi-pronged approach to capturing secondary opportunities across geographies, fund strategies, and LP bases.
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