Affinity

Affinity AI is your unfair advantage. Smarter data → smarter deals 🎥 go.affinity.co/affinityai

Market spotlight: AE Industrial Partners has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in @L3HarrisTech Space Propulsion & Power Systems business, to be rebranded as Rocketdyne. The transaction values the business at $845M, with L3Harris retaining a minority ownership position, and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary approvals. Congratulations to all the teams involved 👏 Read more PE insights here 👉 carriedinterest1.substack.com/p/fundraising-…

Per Franzén, CEO of @eqt, recently warned that many global PE firms are at risk of becoming “zombie companies” over the next 5-10 years. Last month, we asked Niklas Krusche, Head of Origination at Armira, what he thinks will separate the firms that raise capital from those that won’t. Here's what he had to say. Want more grounded PE perspectives? Subscribe to Carried Interest 👉 carriedinterest1.substack.com

Doug Parker is Head of Origination at Seaside Equity Partners, a San Diego-based PE firm focused on control investments in mission-critical services across the Western U.S. Two years ago, Doug and team moved from tracking relationships in Excel to actively managing thousands of relationships in one centralized system, saving hours once lost to manual data entry. Today, Affinity is central to Seaside’s operations. The entire deal team uses it daily, has closed 15+ deals, and kept 10+ under exclusivity since implementation. “It’s night and day,” Doug says. Read more about Seaside’s story 👉 affinity.co/case-studies/s…

Should a VP, a director, and a partner all be making decisions from the same pipeline report? Not anymore. Here's why. Want more from Kyle? Watch the full walkthrough 👉 affinity.co/webinar/inside…

Market spotlight: @DBRG_Group and Crestview Partners have completed their take-private acquisition of WideOpenWest (WOW!). The transaction reflects approximately $1.5B in value, with shareholders receiving $5.20 per share in cash. As it enters its next phase of growth as a private company, @WOW_WAY plans to invest in network and customer experience enhancements while sharpening operational execution. Congratulations to all teams involved 👏

Fiona Pool has spent the last 20+ years working across credit, capital markets, and private investing. From her time at @GoldmanSachs and @BankofAmerica to her roles as Founding Partner at Jondal Capital and Chair of the Board at @HuntonYachts, she knows how to spot inflection points early. Last month, we asked Fiona how her team at Jondal Capital is using AI in their day-to-day. Here’s what she had to say 🔥

When diligence gives you every reason to walk away — and then one important reason not to.

Market spotlight: Cinven, @KKR_Co, and @providequity are set to exit MasOrange in a €4.25B deal, selling their remaining 50% stake to @orange. Full ownership is expected to transfer in H1 2026. Congratulations to all teams involved on this major milestone. Read more about the deals and dynamics shaping private equity as 2026 unfolds 👉 carriedinterest1.substack.com/p/deal-momentu…

Finding white space in private equity isn’t about having more data. It’s about seeing the market differently, faster, and with conviction. At Athena Equity Partners, Aadit Sharma uses AI to compress thesis generation, surface hidden niches, and move early on the right conversations. Hear Aadit’s take on how AI will impact investing as 2026 unfolds.

There are more than a thousand CRM and deal management platforms on the market. Yet only a handful are built for how private equity teams actually work. We pulled together a practical checklist to help PE firms evaluate software. From workflow fit and relationship management to compliance and security, it covers everything you need to consider for 2026. Download it here 👉 affinity.co/lp/the-private…

Market spotlight: Ørsted has completed the divestment of a 50% stake in the Hornsea 3 offshore wind project. Apollo-managed funds committed $6.5B to the transaction, with $3.25B invested at close and the remainder tied to construction milestones. Congratulations to @apolloglobal, @Orsted, and teams on reaching this major milestone. Want to see what else is shaping the market as we head into 2026? The latest edition of Carried Interest, our monthly private equity newsletter, is now live here 👉 carriedinterest1.substack.com/p/deal-momentu…

Ever wondered how other PE firms in your region are performing? In a market defined by tighter capital and heavier competition, one way to pressure-test how you stack up against peers, is to compare performance across engagement, network activity, and deal volume. We built a benchmark tool to help you do just that. Take it for a spin here 👉 affinity.co/lp/private-cap…

Market spotlight: Great Hill Partners announced a strategic growth investment in Ren, a technology and services company enabling charitable giving at scale. The investment positions Ren to build on its current momentum and expand adoption across financial advisors, wealth managers, and nonprofit organizations. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Oren Michaely is Director of AI at @motive_partners. Earlier this year, Oren joined Julia Hubo and @bendocksteader to share how Motive Partners has built an investment tech stack designed to scale. In the conversation, he explained why grounding AI workflows in accurate, well-defined data is key. Hear what else Oren and Julia had to say 👉 affinity.co/webinar/buildi…

Under the mistletoe, still arguing about the multiple.

Market spotlight: Patient Square Capital has completed its $2.6B take-private acquisition of @PremierHA, in an all-cash deal at $28.25 per share. Congratulations to all teams involved on the successful close. Want to see what other deals are making the headlines this month? December’s issue of Carried Interest, our private equity newsletter, is out now on Substack 👉 carriedinterest1.substack.com/p/deal-momentu…

50% of investors ranked new deal sourcing as their top priority for 2026, up from 30% last year and overtaking network building. Why? Because when you focus on improving deal sourcing efficiency and start tracking what moves deals forward, you can surface best-fit opportunities ahead of the competition. What else will define who wins in 2026? Here's what we think 👉 affinity.co/report/affinit…

Meet Sam. He’s an Investment Partner at @ElementVentures, where he evaluates and supports early-stage companies. But that’s not all Sam does. This month, he’s been travelling across the nation to meet with leading voices in private equity, digging deep into the PE playbooks and tactics that work best for the nation’s top firms. So watch this space in 2026. We’ll be bringing you grounded conversations, sharp perspectives, and investment insights worth remembering.

Gryphon Investors are to sell North America’s largest electrical testing organization, @shermco, to funds affiliated with @blackstone in a transaction valued at approximately $1.6B. Since Gryphon’s original investment in 2018, Shermco has seen significant growth and business expansion, experiencing two-fold revenue growth and over 12 add-on acquisitions. Congratulations to all teams involved 👏

64% of firms now use AI to accelerate company research, up from 55% in 2024. So as AI adoption continues to rise, what are the best dealmakers doing differently? They’re applying AI to understand their networks with more precision — mapping their strongest relationships, identifying the warm paths into the best deals, and spotting the moments when proactive outreach has the biggest impact. Here’s how Affinity helps you do just that, and more.