Welcome to this week’s edition of The Private Capital Compass, brought to you by Private Capital Global. At PCG, a Sparc Group company, we remain committed to helping you cut through volatility and zero in on what drives long-term value. Our goal: equip you with strategic intelligence that empowers confident leadership in a complex environment.

This week, we spotlight five essential developments reshaping the private capital landscape from deal momentum to talent shifts, selected to keep you informed. Whether you're scanning signals or refining strategy, these stories are curated to support sharper, faster decision-making.

In this edition, PCG dives deep into how limited partners are transforming the fundraising landscape with heightened expectations for data transparency, sector specialization, and real-time performance insight. We also examine the $10 billion Walgreens–Sycamore Partners transaction and what it reveals about public-to-private momentum. We also break down how GPs are moving beyond strategy decks to drive measurable EBITDA performance through modern, metrics-led execution.

Compass Points

Key insights at a glance:

• Private Equity Drives M&A Stability Amid Global Slowdown: Even as global M&A volumes hit multi-year lows, private equity remains a steady engine of deal activity. Rather than chasing volume, PE players are being selective, emphasizing quality assets and platform growth.

• Deal Value Surges as Investors Regain Confidence: In the first half of the year, private equity deal values have seen a notable resurgence, signaling renewed confidence among investors. A combination of stabilizing interest rates, persistent dry powder, and sector-specific opportunities, especially in healthcare, technology, and infrastructure, has encouraged firms to re-enter the market aggressively.

• Rise of the Billion-Dollar Deal in PE: The market is witnessing an uptick in billion-dollar-plus transactions as private equity leans into scale. Larger deals are becoming more common, fueled by stronger credit conditions, a drive toward consolidation, and an emphasis on operational leverage. The increased appetite for size signals a bold pivot toward capturing significant long-term value.

• Public-to-Private Transactions Gain Momentum: A growing number of public companies are being taken private by private equity sponsors, especially those facing declining margins or complex restructuring needs.

• Talent Wars Heat Up Between PE and Wall Street: The competition for junior talent between investment banks and private equity firms continues to intensify. In response, banks like JP Morgan & Goldman Sachs are adopting defensive measures to retain staff, but cultural differences and compensation structures remain major hurdles.

Market Pulse

Equities

• S&P 500 (SPY): 624.05 (+0.04% past week)

• Dow Jones (DIA): 443.36 (-1.01% past week)

Commodities

• Brent Crude: 70.33/barrel

• USO ETF: 77.03 (+1.61%)

Deep Dive: What LPs Want in 2025: Data-Driven Fundraising Insights

Limited partners (LPs) now demand unprecedented transparency and analytical depth from general partners (GPs), moving far beyond the compelling storytelling and strong historical performance that once secured capital commitments. Today's LPs expect data-driven evidence that directly links firmwide strategies to realized outcomes.

From Narrative to Analytics

While case studies remain important, LPs are insisting on integrated analytical frameworks that demonstrate clear causation between investment approaches and results. GPs must now present comprehensive dashboards tracking attribution across multiple variables; showing not just what happened, but precisely how their methods drove specific outcomes. This analytical sophistication has become a key differentiator in competitive fundraising processes.

Real-Time Reporting Revolution

Traditional quarterly updates have become obsolete as institutional LPs face mounting pressure to demonstrate oversight to their own stakeholders. Forward-thinking GPs are providing monthly data refreshes including detailed fund metrics, value creation tracking, and macro sensitivity analyses. This increased reporting frequency builds deeper partnership relationships while demonstrating operational excellence that extends beyond investment selection.

Specialization Premium

Sector-focused GPs are significantly outperforming generalists in current LP sentiment. Healthcare services, energy transition, and B2B SaaS have emerged as particularly attractive focus areas where deep expertise translates into perceived competitive edge. The most successful specialized GPs articulate how their sector knowledge creates unique deal flow, due diligence capabilities, and value creation opportunities that generalists cannot replicate.

Extended Fundraising Cycles

Perhaps most concerning is the extension of fundraising timelines across all performance quartiles. Even top-performing firms are experiencing longer cycles as LPs conduct more rigorous due diligence. The assumption that strong historical performance automatically translates to rapid re-ups has proven false. Instead, LPs demand differentiated, data-forward storytelling demonstrating how past performance will translate into future opportunity capture.

ESG and DEI: From Aspiration to Requirement

Environmental, social, and governance metrics along with diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations have evolved from aspirational commitments to hard requirements with quantifiable benchmarks. European LPs and next-generation family offices particularly focus on concrete, measurable outcomes. GPs must present specific ESG integration metrics, demonstrate quantifiable progress on diverse leadership pipelines, and establish clear impact thresholds with regular measurement protocols.

The New Paradigm

These converging trends point toward a fundamental shift where data transparency, analytical sophistication, and specialized expertise drive LP-GP relationships. General partners who adapt to these evolving expectations will find themselves well-positioned for fundraising success, while those relying on traditional approaches may face increasing challenges securing institutional capital.

Deal Spotlight: Walgreens Shareholders Approve $10 Billion Sycamore Partners Deal

Transaction: Walgreens shareholders have approved a $10 billion leveraged buyout by Sycamore Partners, taking the company private after nearly 100 years of public trading. The deal offers $11.45 per share in cash, with a contingent value right of up to $3 per share tied to future returns from Walgreens' stake in VillageMD. The transaction is expected to close by Q4 2025, pending regulatory clearance.

Why It Matters: Walgreens has struggled with margin pressure in its pharmacy business, an overextended retail footprint, and the challenges of pivoting to a digital-first healthcare model. By taking the company private, Sycamore gains the ability to execute an aggressive turnaround without quarterly earnings pressure or shareholder scrutiny. Store closures, cost restructuring, and strategic repositioning especially around Walgreens’ healthcare assets are likely to follow. For PE, this exemplifies how disciplined capital and operational control can realign a legacy brand with evolving consumer and payer trends.

Trend Signal: This transaction highlights a resurgence in public-to-private activity, especially among undervalued or underperforming consumer companies. Private equity firms are targeting mature public companies with scalable assets that can be optimized away from the public lens. It also signals confidence in PE’s ability to manage turnaround risk and extract value through structural flexibility, patient capital, and deep operational engagement. As more platforms face pressure to modernize, PE is increasingly stepping in as both capital provider and strategic change agent.

Strategy to EBITDA: The New Era of Value Creation

In a market shaped by longer hold periods and tighter margins, GPs must connect strategy directly to execution to stay competitive.

Firms like KKR, Blackstone, and Carlyle are leading the way with data-driven playbooks. Their approaches show how strategy can translate into measurable outcomes by deploying frameworks from McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte and consultants that isolate true value drivers like margin expansion, revenue growth, and operational synergies.

These methodologies, combined with advanced KPI models and predictive analytics, give GPs the tools to benchmark and forecast performance with precision. From first-100-day execution plans to AI-powered dashboards, the focus is on measurable, replicable results.

If you aren’t already, it’s time to equip your firm with the frameworks, tech, and metrics to drive sustainable EBITDA growth.

Opening & Closing Remarks from Erik Boender, Vice President & COO, Private Capital Global (a Sparc Group company)

Thank you for reading this week’s Private Capital Compass. At Private Capital Global, a Sparc Group company, we’re committed to supporting your success with actionable insights and strategic perspective. If you’d like to discuss any of these topics further, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Here’s to navigating the road ahead together!