2026年一季度美国PE细分（英）2026

Sponsored bySponsored by Contents Executive summary: Software, spreads,and semi-liquids 4 Institutional Research Group Steven Buibish, CFADirector, Private Equitysteven.buibish@pitchbook.com A word from Grant Thornton Stax6 Deals8 Jinny Choi Senior Research Analyst,Private Equityjinny.choi@pitchbook.com Deal valuation metrics 14 Garrett Hinds Credit market conditions15 Senior Research Analyst,Private Equitygarrett.hinds@pitchbook.com Deals by size, backing type, and sector Kyle WaltersResearch Analyst, Private Equitykyle.walters@pitchbook.com Spotlight: US evergreen fund landscape 20 Exits 22 Kenny TangSeniorDirector, US CreditResearchkenny.tang@pitchbook.com Fundraising27 Performance 32 Harrison WaldockSenior Data Analystpbinstitutionalresearch@pitchbook.comPublished on April 14, 2026 Appendix 34 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Software, spreads, and semi-liquids PE software deployment as a share of PE deal value The beginning of 2026 has defied the ambitious expectationsthat many had coming into the year. The declaration that AIhas killed software triggered a sharp valuation reset, turmoil inprivate credit, and heavy selling of publicly traded alternativeasset managers and their semi-liquid credit funds. However, toparaphrase Mark Twain, reports of the software sector’s deathhave been greatly exaggerated, at least according to leading PEinvestors. Yet while software businesses are still surviving, andmany may indeed thrive in the AI era, the swirling uncertaintysurrounding the future of the business model actively threatensits reign as PE’s go-to investment of the past decade. Theimplications of this shift are profound. We are now facingcritical, open questions about where PE capital will be deployedgoing forward and, perhaps more urgently, what happens to themassive inventory of existing PE-backed software companies. This is especially concerning given theimpending debtmaturity walllooming over assets acquired at peak valuationsin 2021, which now face a credit environment far lessaccommodating than what they have seen in recent years.For years, sponsors have demonstrated the inability, or lack ofwill, to exit these investments below their internal marks. Yetthis stalemate may soon face a painful forcing mechanism. Spreads across broadly syndicated loans (BSLs) have widenednoticeably, up as much as 100 basis points since the beginningof the year with software bids falling off a cliff in 2026. Simultaneously, the previously torrential inflows of retail capitalinto private credit have begun to slow and even reverse intonet outflows for many funds. This combination suggests thatthe severe supply-and-demand imbalance of recent years, inthe favor of borrowers, may finally be reverting to equilibrium,bringing selectivity to private credit for the first time in years. KKR’s K-SERIES flagship semi-liquid PE funds are currentlyexceeding or nearing $20 billion in NAV each, putting them ona path to eclipse the size of their latest flagship buyout funds inthe coming years.1Fundraising momentum does not seem tobe slowing either, with approximately $1.5 billion in aggregateflowing into these two fund programs alone in February. But as we have witnessed in other “democratized” private assetclasses, this explosive growth comes with structural baggage.A distinct lack of transparency will inevitably generateheightened scrutiny regarding what exactly these funds holdand their valuation practices. Furthermore, this dynamicposes serious questions for traditional institutional LPs,who are waking up to a new reality where their long-time GPrelationships suddenly have conflicting priorities for deal flowand co-investments, raising questions about whose intereststhe fund managers are aligned with. As the ability to seamlessly refinance these aging capitalstructures becomes increasingly uncertain, sponsors will beforced into hard decisions, potentially breaking the valuationgridlock that has characterized the past several years. Whilethis will likely be painful in the short term, we view it as positivefor the industry in the long run as it goes through an overduereset that sets the stage for future growth. Yet as traditional exits slow and fundraising becomes morechallenging, a less widely discussed change is occurring in PE.Amid the noise surrounding semi-liquid private credit, semi-liquid (or evergreen) PE has been quietly and rapidly scalingin the background, delivering a clear message: It is here tostay. The gravity of these vehicles is becoming impossibleto ignore; net assets across interval and tender offer fundseclipsed $57 billion in Q1. In addition, Blackstone’s BXPE and This is why allocators, GPs, and service providers mustimprove their understanding of this sea change and adapt theirbehaviors accordingly. At PitchBook and Morningstar, we arecommitted to covering this space in depth and will link to ourexisting research throughout this report. A WORD FROM GRANT THORNTON STAXThe market is open—b