Happy Holidays, !

As we wrap up 2024, our New Year Special Edition brings you 12 standout moments in private equity, one for each month.

From record-breaking fundraises and mega-deals to the rise of AI infrastructure, we spotlight some of the defining events that shaped this year.

Get ready to relive the highlights, draw insights, and toast to an exciting 2024!

Team PE 150

📚 January

€175M DEF Fund: Europe’s Big Bet on Defense Innovation

The European Commission and EIF have launched the Defense Equity Facility (DEF), a €175M initiative aimed at bolstering Europe’s defense innovation. With €100M from the European Defense Fund and €75M from EIF, DEF will target SMEs and start-ups working on dual-use technologies—think cyber, space, and medical response systems. The goal? To catalyze €500M in private capital by acting as a cornerstone investor in private equity and venture funds. Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner, called this “a first step” to attracting private investment, while ASD’s Burkard Schmitt emphasized its importance in countering challenges sparked by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

📈 February

EQT Raises €22B: A New Record Amid Tough Markets

Stockholm-based EQT has closed its largest-ever private equity fund at €22bn, outpacing its €20bn target and showing that investor capital continues to favor the biggest players. This comes after a two-year raise during which smaller firms struggled to attract commitments. Per Franzen, head of EQT’s private equity arm, anticipates a “pick-up in deal activity,” driven by a revival of IPO markets and a more active focus on monetizing top-performing assets. Interestingly, 10% of EQT’s new fund came from private wealth investors—a sign of PE’s growing reach beyond institutional money. With €232bn under management, EQT remains in expansion mode, having recently deployed capital into deals like the £4.5bn buyout of Dechra and a bid for French digital music firm Believe.

💰March

Blackstone and Aligned Strike $600M Deal as Data Center Demand Surges

Blackstone has teamed up with Aligned Data Centers, issuing a $600M loan to fund its largest project to date—an 80-megawatt facility in Utah. The deal reflects Blackstone’s growing AI infrastructure play, which includes its $10B QTS acquisition in 2021, now worth $25B. With record-breaking data center demand in DFW, Aligned is also expanding closer to home, planning a 450,000-square-foot facility in Plano. Aligned CFO Anubhav Raj hinted at more deals with Blackstone, underscoring how capital-heavy partnerships are critical as AI-driven infrastructure projects accelerate across the U.S.

🤝 April

US Economic Cool-Off: Growth Slows, Inflation Doesn't

In April, America’s economic engine sputtered as Q1 GDP growth shrank to 1.6%, down from a robust 3.4% in the previous quarter. What didn’t cool? Inflation, with core PCE climbing to 3.7%. Consumers scaled back, business investment slowed, but the Fed’s headache persisted: prices that refused to behave. At the time, Wall Street bet on mild turbulence rather than a crash. As for rate cuts? The Fed kept its hands firmly on the wheel, carefully watching inflation in the rearview.

📊 May

France Welcomes Microsoft’s $4B AI Boost

Microsoft just dropped a cool €4 billion to power up France’s cloud and AI ecosystem, unveiling plans for new and expanded data centers in Mulhouse, Paris, and Marseille. The investment is a major milestone, as Business France’s Laurent Saint Martin put it, strengthening French digital sovereignty. With soaring demand for sustainable AI compute power, Microsoft isn’t alone—Blackstone, Digital Realty, and NTT are all betting big on France’s data infrastructure, while Equinix is literally harnessing the wind with historic PPA deals. Long story short: France’s cloud is booming, and Microsoft’s forecast? Clear skies.

🏆 June

Advent & ADIA Bet Big on Fisher Investments

Private equity giant Advent International, alongside ADIA, has secured a minority stake in Fisher Investments, the $275B asset manager built on direct retail acquisition. This isn’t just another PE buy-in; Fisher remains founder-controlled, while Advent brings deep operational know-how and liquidity to scale further. Why now? Rising client demand for active portfolio management—and a desire for proven firms that can keep margins healthy. For Advent, it’s a low-risk, high-return approach in a sector where the cost of missing out could be steep.

🏆 July

When Carlyle and KKR Went Back to School... With $10.1B

Carlyle and KKR are diving deeper into private credit with their joint acquisition of a $10.1 billion prime student loan portfolio from Discover Financial Services. The deal underscores private credit’s growing dominance in asset-backed finance as traditional lenders offload balance sheet risks. Carlyle’s Credit Strategic Solutions team and KKR’s asset-based finance strategy led the charge, highlighting both firms’ appetite for scale in a turbulent lending market. Discover, meanwhile, gets to simplify operations—part of a broader strategic pivot. The deal, expected to close by year-end, also spotlights Monogram LLC as portfolio manager and Firstmark Services as loan servicer. A tidy handoff all around.

🏆 August

Market Panic Meets Fundamentals: Global Growth Unfazed

Early August brought market panic over US recession fears, sparking a stock selloff, bond rally, and even chatter of an emergency Fed rate cut. While the volatility was sharp, fundamentals suggest the moves were overdone. Global indicators still point to modest expansion, and forecasts for world GDP remain steady at 3.2% for 2024 and 2025. Central banks are treading cautiously, with gradual rate cuts likely—excluding Japan—but may ease faster if growth disappoints. Meanwhile, the Eurozone holds steady despite German uncertainty, and optimism over the UK’s prospects continues to support sterling. A slower US economy may further weaken the dollar heading into 2025.

🏆 September

The Tech Bubble Redux in Sports?

Gerry Cardinale, owner of AC Milan and founder of RedBird Capital, warns that private equity is dangerously inflating sports valuations, comparing the trend to the early 2000s tech bubble. Speaking at the IMG x RedBird Summit, he criticized private equity firms for overpaying for minority stakes without governance or exit rights.

The allure of sports investments is clear—steady revenues, loyal fans, and economic resilience—leading to widespread PE involvement. By 2023, two-thirds of NBA teams and 35% of European soccer clubs had PE or VC backing, while even the NFL opened up to institutional capital.

However, Cardinale argues that asset managers excel at buying but often fail to develop intellectual property businesses like sports. He remains optimistic about media rights growth but stresses the need for a “soft landing” to avoid a collapse from inflated valuations as leagues fragment and a potential sports bubble emerges.

🏆 October

Tech Giants go Nuclear to Support AI Infrastructure Energy Demand

Google and Amazon are rethinking power solutions for their energy-hungry data centers, and the answer? Nuclear energy. Google just inked a deal with Talen Energy to power its data centers with carbon-free nuclear energy from Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna plant. Meanwhile, Amazon is doubling down on small modular reactors (SMRs), striking deals to invest in emerging nuclear technologies to keep its cloud servers running clean and green. Both tech giants are hedging against rising energy costs and carbon footprints, signaling that nuclear—once sidelined—is quietly making its way back as a critical part of Big Tech’s sustainability strategy.

🏆 November

Donald Trump back in the White House: What does this mean for the world’s economy?

Donald Trump’s return to the White House would bring familiar vibes—tariffs, trade wars, and a global economy on edge—but with sharper teeth. The man who once called tariffs “the most beautiful word” promises to slap 10-20% taxes on all imports, with China singled out for an eye-watering 60%. Cue the European Union scrambling for retaliation plans, German carmakers already shedding stock value, and G7 leaders preaching alliances over escalation.

Markets are a rollercoaster: US indices popped while the Mexican peso nosedived, fearing a crossfire of trade politics. Meanwhile, Trump’s promise of “crypto leadership” sent Bitcoin soaring past $75k—because why not?

For the UK, post-Brexit neutrality is wishful thinking; pharma and car exports may catch some tariff shrapnel. Bottom line: Trump’s “America First” playbook isn’t new, but the stakes feel higher. IMF’s warning of a 7% global GDP hit? Now that’s one way to crash the party.

🏆 December

Private Equity Meets the Audit Police

Private equity is making itself at home in the world of midsize accounting firms, but the SEC’s top accountant, Paul Munter, isn’t rolling out the welcome mat just yet. Deals like Grant Thornton U.S.’s headline-grabber in May are pumping capital into tech upgrades and talent acquisition, but Munter warns of risks: PE investors chase returns, not public trust. The fear? A cultural shift where audit quality and independence take a back seat to profit motives. “Maintaining independence is the responsibility of the entire firm,” Munter stresses, with the SEC watching closely to ensure firms don’t trade their public interest mindset for dividends. In other words: capital gains, audit pains.

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right"

Oprah Winfrey