đ Cinvenâs âŹ2.6B womenâs health bet
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đ Cinven has agreed to buy Theramex from The Carlyle Group and PAI Partners, in a deal valuing the London-based womenâs health specialist at about âŹ2.6 billion, the Financial Times reported. That is more than double the price the sellers paid in 2022, a welcome payday in a tough exit market.
However, the sector is no longer the sure thing it once was. Specialist healthcare PE funds from the 2021 to 2023 vintages have posted a pooled IRR of 10.2%, trailing the 12% across all PE, according to our H1 2026 Healthcare Funds Report. See why crowded deals and peak valuations are to blame here.
đ· IP Group has won a mandate from Aberdeen Investments to manage a UK venture growth portfolio within the CG Scottish Widows Growth LTAF. The long-term asset fund is among the first workplace pension vehicles to channel saversâ money into homegrown science and technology. Initial investments are expected to include Oxford Quantum Circuits, Quantum Motion and Nyobolt. It lands a week after the UK Budget, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer pledged to continue raising pension fund allocations to private capital. Read our Budget coverage here
đŠ In case you missed it, Apollo Global Management launched its European Credit Company on Monday, a platform with more than âŹ10 billion of lending capacity for European performing credit. Backers include the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, insurance group Athora and Japanâs Norinchukin Bank. It arrives as European private debt fundraising reached just 41% of 2025âs total by the end of June, with capital concentrating in larger funds and established managers, according to our H1 2026 Global Private Debt Report. Find the full report here
Andrew Woodman, Managing Editor, European Private Markets
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The ECB has delivered tightening but has limited room to go further. The Bank of Canada, by contrast, has room to deliver considerably more normalisation through 2027. That divergence underpins a compelling currency trade. Listen as RBC Capital Marketsâ Elsa Lignos outlines the case for short EUR/CAD and explains why this pairing offers a cleaner expression of central bank divergence than EUR/USD. For active FX investors, this is a trade rationale worth hearing in full.
Listen to the full episode now
The AI boomâs biggest winners may not write software: data centre-exposed companies drew $64.4 billion of VC, PE and M&A investment in 2025, roughly 37x the 2016 total. Get a preview of 100 here
Only 53 of 254 US venture-backed companies given better-than-even odds of listing by the end of 2025 actually did, and our research says the IPO backlog is a myth. Read on
Unknown hackers are still targeting supermarket fridges in Europe. A second wave of attacks hit several countries on Monday, forcing staff to throw away spoiled food. Freezers at one store in Stockholm reached 50 degrees Celsius. [Reuters]
This online school operator has received over $1 billion from Texas taxpayers over the past five years as online enrollment has surged since the pandemic. Still, students are slipping through the cracks and getting left behind. [Bloomberg]
In their second season of existence, the Golden State Valkyries are WNBA champions. Despite growing pains, the Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream in Game 7, cheered on by a growing, purple-clad fanbase. [The Wall Street Journal]
Permira appointed former S&P Global president and CEO Douglas Peterson as a senior adviser to its services team.
ICG hired Ramon Arocena as managing director to lead the firmâs mid-market strategy in Iberia.
London-based digital asset trading startup LO:TECH raised a $12 million Series A led by MMC.
Quint Computing, a German developer of superconducting quantum computers, secured âŹ9.1 million in a round led by Vsquared Ventures.
Vitroscope, a Norwegian biotech startup developing perfusion platforms for studying immune activity, raised $7 million, including a $5 million seed round led by Cerberus Ventures and YZR Capital.
Vienna-based space tech group Tumbleweed received a âŹ6.9 million seed round led by Pact.
Conlio, a Berlin-based developer of the AI-powered financial operations layer for the freight industry, raised âŹ6.4 million in a round led by Piton Capital.
Hg agreed to invest in an unnamed European AI transformation company aimed at helping organisations with responsible AI adoption and product innovation, with participation from Anthropic and angel investors.
Main Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in 21south, a Dutch provider of ERP software for the waste management and environmental services sector.
Bridgepoint agreed to acquire a majority stake in Batisanté, a French compliance and safety services provider to residential buildings, from IK Partners.
Verdane led a growth financing round in Enginsight, a German cybersecurity software platform for SMEs and public bodies.
Aspirity Partners committed $135 million for a minority stake in Hoxton Wealth, a London-based technology-enabled international wealth management platform.
Evertrue Capital, a UK-based solo GP firm founded by former Phoenix Court partner Yvonne Bajela, closed its debut fund on $17 million.
Berlin-based solo GP VC firm Robin Capital closed its second fund on âŹ15 million.
Brookfield Asset Managementâs Radiant infrastructure platform and the Qatar Investment Authority agreed to invest ÂŁ2.5 billion in a data centre project with UK power generator Drax Group.
Startups in Europe raised âŹ68.4 billion in the first nine months of this year, according to PitchBookâs Q3 2026 European Venture Report, almost on par with last yearâs annual total. The surge in investment has been driven by AI, which is on track to reach near âŹ60 billion by yearâs endâdouble 2022âs record.
Source: Europeâs startups have a customer, not capital, problem, say investors
