Mariam Lobjanidze
In Q1 2026, the volume of completed PE transactions dropped while overall deal value rose.
Not only are fourth quarters usually stronger, they are usually the strongest quarter of their years. This was not the case in 2025.
Sources told PE Hub they expected an uptick in deals in the second half – the latest numbers suggest that optimism was warranted.
Tariff turmoil took a considerable toll on completed PE transactions.
Some of the biggest deals that closed in Q1 were in the TMT sector: Silver Lake bought Endeavor for about $10bn; IBM bought HashiCorp for $8.1bn; Blackstone and Vista bought Smartsheet for $7.9bn.