Global PE investment tilts toward quality over quantity, with AI and energy leading in H1

Samjong KPMG's report on global private equity investment trends and H2 2026 outlook [Provided by Samjong KPMG]

Amid persistent geopolitical risks and macroeconomic uncertainty, the global private equity market is showing a clear shift toward "quality investment" — concentrating capital in a select group of high-conviction assets such as energy, AI and infrastructure.

Global PE investment in the first half of this year totaled $1 trillion across 9,294 deals, according to a report on global PE investment trends and the H2 2026 outlook published Thursday by Samjong KPMG.

On a rolling 12-month basis, global PE investment value edged down from $2.4 trillion to $2.3 trillion, while deal count fell from 21,060 to 20,105 — the lowest level in 21 quarters.

Trends in global PE investment activity [Provided by Samjong KPMG]

Total investment value held relatively steady even as deal count declined, reflecting investors' preference in a high-uncertainty environment for deploying capital through large deals in high-conviction sectors — energy, AI and infrastructure — rather than broadening exposure indiscriminately.

By region, the Americas led the global PE market in the first half, recording $579.1 billion across 4,319 deals. The largest single deal of the period was KKR's $10 billion transaction to launch Helix digital infrastructure, underscoring the growing appeal of digital infrastructure as a PE investment destination driven by AI adoption and expanding data center investment.

The Europe, Middle East and Africa region came in second with $343.2 billion across 4,067 deals. Three of the four largest PE deals globally in the second quarter were struck in the region — EQT Partners' $14.6 billion take-private of UK-based Intertek Group, Bain Capital's $8.6 billion buyout of Germany's Everllence, and CVC Capital Partners and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert's $6.7 billion take-private of Italy's Recordati.

Top 10 global PE deals in Q2 2026 [Provided by Samjong KPMG]

The Asia-Pacific region posted a comparatively subdued $67.9 billion across 639 deals. Japan led the region with $23.3 billion, while China recorded just $5.8 billion. Australia stood out with two major healthcare secondary buyouts — I-MED ($2.4 billion) and Estia Health ($2 billion) — driving the region's most notable transactions.

South Korea's PE market recorded $5.6 billion across 69 deals in the first half. Investment activity was dampened by a combination of factors: energy risks from disruptions to Strait of Hormuz shipping, rising financing costs, a sluggish domestic M&A market, and the National Pension Service's suspension of new domestic PE commitments. The sustained high exchange rate environment nonetheless prompted more companies to consider divesting non-core assets, keeping investment in quality domestic assets active — particularly among well-capitalized global PE firms.

South Korea PE investment trends [Provided by Samjong KPMG]

By sector, technology, media and telecommunications attracted the most investment at $354.7 billion, followed by industrial manufacturing at $154 billion and energy and natural resources at $149.2 billion. The energy sector has emerged as a core PE investment destination as geopolitical risks — heightened by Middle East instability and Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions — intersect with efforts to strengthen energy security and accelerate the shift to climate technology. Surging power demand from AI-driven data centers has further enhanced the investment appeal of energy infrastructure.

"In the second half of this year, the global PE market is expected to maintain a relatively stable trajectory, with capital concentrated in large deals within high-conviction core sectors — energy, AI infrastructure and industrial manufacturing hardware — rather than pursuing aggressive quantitative expansion," said Kim Jin-won, deputy chief executive of Samjong KPMG.

Kim added that domestic PE investment activity is also expected to gradually recover in the second half, as major limited partners including the National Pension Service and other pension and mutual-aid funds are scheduled to resume commitments to private equity funds. "Interest from both domestic and foreign PE firms in high-skill precision manufacturing sectors such as semiconductors and auto parts, as well as K-beauty and K-culture export companies, is likely to drive an expansion of investment beyond traditional buyouts into growth capital and cross-industry convergence," he said.

Meanwhile, Samjong KPMG — which operates on a March fiscal year — posted operating revenue of 905.6 billion won ($646 million) for the current fiscal year (April 2025 to March 2026), up about 3.4 percent from the previous year, crossing the 900 billion won threshold for the first time.

an@heraldcorp.com