Private Equity Deals 2026: Applied Systems' $10B Sale, Goldman-Palmer Square & the Week's Key Moves
September 28, 2026 • Weekly PE Deal Review • 8 min read
A defining week for private equity deals 2026 saw Hellman & Friedman put its crown jewel insurance software platform Applied Systems on the block at up to $10 billion, while Goldman Sachs moved to acquire $37 billion credit manager Palmer Square Capital Management. In Asia, CVC Capital Partners and NSSK weighed a ¥500 billion ($3.2 billion) take-private of scandal-hit Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, and Oaktree Capital crystallized a major European exit, selling Italian power firm COL Group to Eaton for €810 million. From UK wealth management consolidation to cross-border cybersecurity M&A, this week offered a rich deal flow for allocators to track.
🌐 Deal of the Week: Applied Systems' $10 Billion Mega-Exit
Hellman & Friedman is exploring a sale of Applied Systems, the leading insurance technology platform, at a valuation of up to $10 billion — a transaction that would rank among the largest software buyout processes of 2026. Applied Systems provides cloud-based software that helps insurance agencies and brokerages manage customer relationships, policy administration, and back-office workflows. The Chicago-based company counts major players like HUB International, Insurance Office of America, and the Baldwin Group among its clients. Hellman & Friedman acquired Applied Systems from Bain Capital for approximately $1.8 billion in 2014, meaning a sale at the upper range would represent a roughly 5.5x gross return over 12 years. The company now generates more than $550 million in annual EBITDA. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are advising on the process, which has already attracted interest from prospective buyers.
Why it matters for allocators: The Applied Systems process underscores the enduring appeal of vertical SaaS platforms with sticky, subscription-based revenue in the insurance sector. For allocators evaluating PE managers' ability to create value in software, this potential exit — if realized near the top-end valuation — would demonstrate Hellman & Friedman's thesis on long-hold software compounding. It also signals the broader return of large-cap software M&A after a quieter period, following ServiceNow's $7.7 billion Armis acquisition and Hg's $6.4 billion OneStream take-private.
⚡ Major Private Equity Deals 2026: Transactions This Week
Goldman Sachs Targets $37 Billion Palmer Square Capital
Goldman Sachs is in talks to acquire Palmer Square Capital Management, a Kansas City-based credit-focused asset manager overseeing more than $37 billion in assets. The deal would accelerate Goldman's ambitious target of reaching $300 billion in credit alternative assets by 2028 and $750 billion in total alternative assets by 2030. Palmer Square, founded by husband-and-wife team Chris Long (CEO) and Angie Long (CIO) in 2009, specializes in CLO and structured credit strategies. The acquisition follows Goldman's recent purchases of NEOS Investments (up to $2.25 billion) and Innovator ($2 billion) earlier in 2026, underscoring a relentless acquisition spree in the alternatives space.
CVC & NSSK Weigh $3.2 Billion Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Take-Private
In one of the week's most significant APAC deals, CVC Capital Partners and Japan's Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko (NSSK) are weighing a ¥500 billion ($3.2 billion) take-private of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical. The Japanese healthcare and consumer products company, founded in 1886, has seen its share price battered following a red-yeast rice supplement contamination scandal. CVC and NSSK's bid represents a bet on turnaround value — acquiring a storied brand at a depressed valuation with plans to restructure and restore consumer confidence. The deal would mark one of the largest PE take-privates in Japan this year.
Oaktree Exits COL Group to Eaton for €810 Million
Oaktree Capital has agreed to sell COL Group, an Italian manufacturer of medium-voltage electrical distribution equipment, to Dublin-based power management giant Eaton for an enterprise value of €810 million. COL Group employs approximately 400 people across facilities in Turin, Milan, Bergamo, and Catania, with projected 2027 revenues of roughly €250 million. The acquisition expands Eaton's European data center and utility infrastructure capabilities, particularly in SF₆-free switchgear technology — a growing priority as the energy transition accelerates. Closing is expected in Q1 2027.
Allocator takeaway: The COL Group exit highlights a compelling PE playbook: acquire specialized industrial assets positioned on secular themes (data centers, grid modernization, decarbonization) and exit to strategic acquirers at premium valuations.
CD&R & Warburg Pincus in Joint Bid for Canaccord Wealth
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Warburg Pincus have emerged as the leading bidders in a joint bid for Canaccord Wealth, the UK wealth management arm of Canada's Canaccord Genuity Group. The division, valued at more than £1 billion in an October 2025 assessment, provides investment management, financial planning, and wealth advisory services to private clients across Britain. BlackRock-owned HPS Investment Partners, which has held a minority stake since 2021, is expected to sell its shares as part of the transaction. The deal reflects continued PE consolidation in the UK wealth management sector.
Madison Dearborn Takes Marygold Private at 100% Premium
Madison Dearborn Partners has signed a definitive agreement to take The Marygold Companies private in an all-cash deal at $2.00 per share — a 100% premium over the September 24 closing price. Marygold is a diversified holding company with subsidiaries in financial services (USCF Investments, managing approximately $6 billion in commodity ETF assets), food manufacturing, printing, and beauty products. Closing is expected in the first half of 2027, with major shareholders holding approximately 75% of outstanding stock already committed to voting in favor.
Butterfly Equity Acquires Food Packaging Maker Sabert
Butterfly Equity, the Los Angeles-based PE firm focused on the food ecosystem, has acquired Sabert Corporation, a leading global provider of innovative and sustainable food packaging solutions. Sabert manufactures products used across foodservice, retail, and consumer markets. The acquisition expands Butterfly's portfolio in the food value chain, complementing its existing investments in food manufacturing and technology.
💰 Fundraising & Strategic Moves
CVC Secondary Partners Closes $10 Billion Fund VI
CVC Secondary Partners has closed its Secondary Opportunities Fund VI (SOF VI) at $10 billion in aggregate commitments — nearly double the $5.8 billion raised for SOF V in 2023 and the firm's largest secondaries fund to date. Over 200 limited partners participated, with approximately 50% new to the SOF platform. The fund targets mid-market PE buyout investments through both LP portfolio acquisitions and GP-led transactions, deploying across CVC's 60-person dedicated secondaries team managing €20 billion in secondary assets.
Allocator takeaway: The near-doubling of CVC's secondaries fund size reflects the structural growth of the secondaries market, where LPs increasingly seek liquidity solutions and GPs pursue continuation vehicles. For allocators, secondaries offer shorter J-curves and diversified vintage-year exposure.
Inflexion Invests in French Nail Care Brand Manucurist
UK-based PE firm Inflexion has made a significant minority investment in Manucurist, a French clean-beauty nail care brand. The investment will fund Manucurist's US expansion and accelerate its push into physical retail channels beyond its established direct-to-consumer presence. Inflexion brings its European consumer brand-building expertise to a fast-growing segment of the clean beauty market.
Phoenix Exits Logiq to IBM
Phoenix Equity Partners has completed the sale of Logiq Consulting, a UK-based cybersecurity and secure digital transformation firm, to IBM. Logiq's DISX platform and sovereign cybersecurity credentials enhance IBM's consulting capabilities in the UK defense and government sectors. The exit demonstrates Phoenix's ability to scale niche cybersecurity businesses to strategic acquirer-ready status.
Copeland Acquires Dickson for Cold Chain Intelligence
Copeland, the climate technology company backed by Blackstone, has completed its acquisition of Dickson, a cold chain monitoring and environmental intelligence firm, from May River Capital. The deal advances Copeland's position in the healthcare and life sciences cold chain segment, where regulatory requirements for temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and vaccine storage continue to drive investment.
📊 Week in Numbers
$10B — Potential valuation for Applied Systems in Hellman & Friedman's sale process, up from a $1.8B acquisition in 2014
$37B — Assets under management at Palmer Square Capital, Goldman Sachs' latest credit acquisition target
$3.2B — CVC and NSSK's proposed take-private bid for Japan's Kobayashi Pharmaceutical
€810M — Enterprise value of Oaktree's COL Group exit to Eaton, driven by data center demand
$10B — CVC Secondary Partners Fund VI close, nearly doubling its predecessor
100% — Premium offered by Madison Dearborn for Marygold Companies' take-private
🔍 Our Take: What to Watch
1. The Return of Mega-Cap Software M&A. Hellman & Friedman's $10 billion Applied Systems process signals that the large-cap software buyout market has definitively reopened. Following ServiceNow's $7.7 billion Armis deal and Hg's $6.4 billion OneStream take-private, expect a wave of PE software exits as sponsors capitalize on improved debt markets and renewed buyer appetite. Allocators with exposure to 2013–2016 vintage software funds may see accelerated distributions.
2. Japan's Post-Reform PE Opportunity. The CVC-NSSK bid for Kobayashi Pharmaceutical exemplifies the deepening opportunity set in Japanese PE. Corporate governance reforms, activist shareholder pressure, and a weaker yen have created conditions for take-privates that would have been culturally and structurally impossible a decade ago. Allocators should monitor Japan-focused PE strategies as the deal pipeline builds.
3. Credit Platform Consolidation Accelerates. Goldman Sachs' pursuit of Palmer Square, on the heels of its NEOS and Innovator acquisitions, reflects a structural shift where traditional asset managers are aggressively building credit capabilities through M&A. This trend benefits allocators by creating larger, more diversified credit platforms — but also raises concentration risk as the industry consolidates around a handful of mega-managers.
📚 Sources
Reuters — Hellman & Friedman / Applied Systems, September 24, 2026
Bloomberg — Goldman Sachs / Palmer Square Capital, September 22, 2026
Bloomberg — Kobayashi Pharmaceutical take-private, September 24, 2026
PE Hub — Oaktree / COL Group / Eaton, September 25, 2026
Reuters — CD&R & Warburg Pincus / Canaccord Wealth, September 22, 2026
Yahoo Finance — Madison Dearborn / Marygold, September 25, 2026
Packaging Dive — Butterfly Equity / Sabert, September 22, 2026
PitchBook — CVC Secondary Partners Fund VI, September 3, 2026
PE Hub — Inflexion / Manucurist, September 25, 2026
IBM Newsroom — Phoenix / Logiq, September 24, 2026
Business Wire — Copeland / Dickson, September 23, 2026
⚠️ Disclaimer
This article is published by AirFund for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument. AirFund is registered as a Conseil en Investissement Financier (CIF) in France with ORIAS. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The information contained in this article is based on sources considered reliable, but no representation or warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult their professional advisors before making any investment decision. Private equity investments carry significant risks, including illiquidity, long holding periods, and potential loss of capital.