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| The Daily Pitch |
| Europe |
| Your edge on global private capital markets |
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| ☀️ Welcome to the new Daily Pitch. We've reimagined our newsletter to give you more of what matters most: deep analysis of big events, fresh insights from our research and a curated look at what's moving the private markets. Tell us what you think. |
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| PE says hello again to IPOs |
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By Madeline Shi and Janelle Bradley, PitchBook News
Private equity firms have steered more of their exit-ready assets to the public markets this year, underpinning a much-anticipated rebound in exits for this industry. The jury is out, however, on whether we are seeing a sustained recovery in the market for PE-backed listings on US exchanges.
In the first three quarters of the year, 20 US-based companies under private-equity ownership priced IPOs in the US—already surpassing last year's tally. These offerings carried a combined pre-money valuation of $103.9 billion—already 135% higher than the full-year total for 2024.
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That said, the volume of IPO exits has fluctuated from month to month. The third quarter saw a noticeable uptick in listings, as easing inflation fears, a September stock market rally and the Trump administration's push for deregulation created favorable conditions for several well-received debuts.
Another notable trend is stronger post-IPO performance for recent PE listings. About 59% of PE-backed companies that went public on major US exchanges this year have traded above their offering prices, according to PitchBook data through Oct. 10.
Leading the pack is Karman Space & Defense, a California-based defense and space systems maker backed by Texas-based PE firm Trive Capital. The company's stock has tripled since its February debut on the New York Stock Exchange, which raised $506 million.
Despite the improved momentum in the IPO market, advisers suggested that PE firms remain cautious as they pursue exits on the public markets. Recent uncertainty, brought about by the US government shutdown and renewed tariff flare-ups between the US and China, presents near-term risks to companies seeking to price offerings. |
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• VC funding for the medtech industry is on the road to recovery. But while growth-stage companies are experiencing a surge toward 2020-2021 highs, early-stage specialists are feeling the squeeze. Access the expert analysis
• Lone Star Funds' $3.8 billion take-private deal with Hillenbrand adds to a growing wave of larger PE pacts as financing conditions ease. The deal also reflects sustained investor interest in manufacturing specialists. The stakes are high. Dive deeper
• Cancer-focused life sciences startup Tubulis has raised a €308 million ($361 million) Series C, marking Europe's largest such deal. Although Q1 recorded its highest deal value to date, 2025 has since been lackluster for European life sciences. Read more |
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| VC secondaries continue to grow, but GP-led deals are lagging |
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By Michael Bodley, Senior VC Reporter
Annual GP-led VC secondaries have reached around $14.6 billion and are projected to grow by $1.5 billion in the next two years, according to a new PitchBook analyst note. Direct secondaries, meanwhile, are hovering around $60 billion in annual transactions, up from $50 billion last year.
"The biggest takeaway is that the GP-led secondaries market has grown in recent years because of the exits stalemate—but because the market has inherent limitations, both on the buyer side and the seller side, its growth is limited to a small universe of potential venture firms that can spin out continuation funds and strip sales," said Emily Zheng, a senior VC research analyst at PitchBook.
Much of the activity in the US venture secondaries market has revolved around direct deals. They're cheaper and require less due diligence from the buyer, whereas so-called strip portfolio sales have proven to be a tougher sell.
Still, portfolios that include stakes in some of the top AI startups are likely to garner better interest.
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While continuation vehicles have driven much of the growth in GP-led transactions, they remain a nascent market, according to John Wuestling, a partner at StepStone Group.
Buyers often need to raise at least $500 million for a continuation vehicle in order to absorb later-stage deals, according to Zheng. That’s a sizable chunk for one vehicle, even among the larger VCs. And there’s a limited universe of investment firms that check that box.
As for a venture fund’s original LPs, it becomes a choice between immediate liquidity and potentially bigger returns—someday.
“You’re trading upside for duration,” Wuestling said. |
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Smart reads that caught our eye today.
• A former IMF chief economist says a market crash could wipe out trillions in wealth because the world is too dependent on US stocks. [The Economist]
• Tech's shoeless era? Spa slippers and comfy socks are now office attire in Silicon Valley, where fewer and fewer boundaries separate work life from home. [The San Francisco Standard]
• Take that, Adele: How Taylor Swift rewrote the modern rules for selling records with 38 versions of her latest release, "The Life of a Showgirl." [The Wall Street Journal] |
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