Key Takeaways
- • Global private equity firms invested $1.5 trillion across 14,650 deals in 3Q26, according to KPMG's Pulse of Private Equity 3Q26 report based on PitchBook data as of 30 September, with value holding steady while deal count heads for its lowest annual level since 2020.
- • Rolling 12-month deal value stood at $2.213 trillion, down from roughly $2.4 trillion in the prior quarter, while the number of deals fell to 20,362, the lowest since 1Q21.
- • Capital is concentrating in large transactions: the median buyout was $101.7 million versus a $725.5 million average, and energy and natural resources drew $243.3 billion in the first nine months, close to its annual record.
- • Exits reached $985.2 billion across 2,204 transactions in 3Q26, but the number of exits is at a multi-year low and distributions to investors have not normalised.
- • Fundraising in EMA is highly concentrated: 113 funds raised $92.2 billion in 3Q26, putting 2026 on course for fewer funds than the 208 raised in 2025.
Summary
KPMG's Pulse of Private Equity 3Q26 report, drawing on PitchBook data as of 30 September 2026, finds that global private equity firms invested $1.5 trillion across 14,650 deals in the third quarter. Financial volumes have held up despite an increasingly selective market, and if the current pace continues through December, 2026 could be the third-best year on record by value after 2021 and 2025. Transaction count, however, is set for its lowest annual figure since 2020. On a rolling 12-month basis, deal value stood at $2.213 trillion, down from about $2.4 trillion the previous quarter, and deal numbers fell to 20,362, the lowest since 1Q21.
The report identifies growing capital concentration in large deals. In 3Q26 the median buyout value was $101.7 million and the average $725.5 million; for growth equity, the median was $21.2 million and the average $139.8 million. KPMG cites the take-private of DCC Power ($7.7 billion), the secondary buyout of Aypa Power ($7 billion), the acquisition of VTX Energy Partners ($3 billion) and the buyout of Australia's Plus ES ($2.1 billion) as leading examples. Energy and natural resources attracted $243.3 billion in the first nine months, and AI-related infrastructure, including data centres, power generation, grids and grid equipment, is the main driver of fund interest. Industrial manufacturing drew $122.6 billion over the same period, approaching the 2021 record of $163.3 billion, with automotive at $28 billion; KPMG links both sectors partly to defence spending and robotics adoption.
Regionally, the Americas led with $854.6 billion across 6,845 transactions in the first nine months, including $793.4 billion in the United States. EMA totalled $521.3 billion across 6,249 deals, with the United Kingdom leading at $165 billion, followed by Germany at $58.1 billion. Asia-Pacific, at $137.8 billion across 1,109 deals, is the only region KPMG expects to finish 2026 ahead of 2025 in both value and deal count; its rolling 12-month value rose to $181.4 billion, the highest in six quarters. Carve-outs reached $182.2 billion across 1,254 transactions in 3Q26, on track for the second-best year on record, with KPMG noting that sellers are increasingly offloading healthy businesses that no longer fit their groups.
Exits totalled $985.2 billion across 2,204 transactions in 3Q26, relatively robust, though the report notes that a few large transactions drive the value while rolling 12-month exit numbers hit a low of 3,295. KPMG says the resurgence of large exits has not yet translated into normalised distributions to investors. In EMEA, rolling 12-month exit value reached $460.5 billion, the highest in 17 quarters, against 1,434 transactions, the lowest in 22 quarters. Continuation vehicles and secondaries are cited as partial solutions. Fundraising remains constrained: in EMA, 113 funds raised $92.2 billion in 3Q26, close to the $94.7 billion raised in all of 2025, but fund count is particularly low, with 2026 potentially ending below 2025's 208 funds, a decade low. KPMG cites ICG's roughly $14 billion ninth European Corporate fund, announced in September, as an example of capital concentrating with large managers. For late 2026 and 2027, KPMG expects a selective market favouring AI infrastructure, energy, industrial technologies, advanced manufacturing and healthcare, with take-privates gaining interest.
The report identifies growing capital concentration in large deals. In 3Q26 the median buyout value was $101.7 million and the average $725.5 million; for growth equity, the median was $21.2 million and the average $139.8 million. KPMG cites the take-private of DCC Power ($7.7 billion), the secondary buyout of Aypa Power ($7 billion), the acquisition of VTX Energy Partners ($3 billion) and the buyout of Australia's Plus ES ($2.1 billion) as leading examples. Energy and natural resources attracted $243.3 billion in the first nine months, and AI-related infrastructure, including data centres, power generation, grids and grid equipment, is the main driver of fund interest. Industrial manufacturing drew $122.6 billion over the same period, approaching the 2021 record of $163.3 billion, with automotive at $28 billion; KPMG links both sectors partly to defence spending and robotics adoption.
Regionally, the Americas led with $854.6 billion across 6,845 transactions in the first nine months, including $793.4 billion in the United States. EMA totalled $521.3 billion across 6,249 deals, with the United Kingdom leading at $165 billion, followed by Germany at $58.1 billion. Asia-Pacific, at $137.8 billion across 1,109 deals, is the only region KPMG expects to finish 2026 ahead of 2025 in both value and deal count; its rolling 12-month value rose to $181.4 billion, the highest in six quarters. Carve-outs reached $182.2 billion across 1,254 transactions in 3Q26, on track for the second-best year on record, with KPMG noting that sellers are increasingly offloading healthy businesses that no longer fit their groups.
Exits totalled $985.2 billion across 2,204 transactions in 3Q26, relatively robust, though the report notes that a few large transactions drive the value while rolling 12-month exit numbers hit a low of 3,295. KPMG says the resurgence of large exits has not yet translated into normalised distributions to investors. In EMEA, rolling 12-month exit value reached $460.5 billion, the highest in 17 quarters, against 1,434 transactions, the lowest in 22 quarters. Continuation vehicles and secondaries are cited as partial solutions. Fundraising remains constrained: in EMA, 113 funds raised $92.2 billion in 3Q26, close to the $94.7 billion raised in all of 2025, but fund count is particularly low, with 2026 potentially ending below 2025's 208 funds, a decade low. KPMG cites ICG's roughly $14 billion ninth European Corporate fund, announced in September, as an example of capital concentrating with large managers. For late 2026 and 2027, KPMG expects a selective market favouring AI infrastructure, energy, industrial technologies, advanced manufacturing and healthcare, with take-privates gaining interest.
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