US buyout firms carry European private equity as deal value slips

American private equity firms accounted for a record share of European buyout activity in the third quarter, even as the wider market slowed. PitchBook's Q3 2026 European PE Breakdown shows that deals with US investor participation made up €56.5bn, or 45.7%, of the €123.5bn of deal value recorded so far for the quarter. Nine of the ten largest transactions had a US sponsor.

The rest of the market moved the other way. Total European deal value, including PitchBook estimates, fell 10.9% quarter on quarter to €149.15bn, and deal count dropped 4.4% to 2,253. Exits weakened more, with exit value down 25% on the quarter. The report identifies the European Central Bank's rate increases in June and September as the clearest cause. The result is a European market whose resilience increasingly depends on capital raised, and debt arranged, on the other side of the Atlantic.

Why US sponsors are leaning in

PitchBook gives three explanations. US firms have more unspent capital, European assets look cheap relative to softer US valuations, and US credit markets reopened faster than European ones, making acquisition debt easier to raise. The valuation point shows up in the report's multiples data: Nicolas Moura, a senior analyst at PitchBook, notes that the median European M&A EV/EBITDA multiple has fallen to 8.9x so far in 2026 from 9.8x in 2025, despite higher borrowing costs. In his reading, the slowdown reflects the price of money rather than a lack of attractive targets, which gives buyers with cheaper financing a clear edge.

Currency is a further draw. JPMorgan's global head of M&A, Charlie Bouckaert, told Reuters that some US companies are considering European acquisitions for the first time to take advantage of a strong dollar. The pattern is a reversal of the second quarter, when US dealmaking fell while European activity rose; in the third quarter US activity recovered and Europe slowed.

UK take-privates and the DCC Energy deal

Much of the US capital has gone into listed UK companies. PitchBook counts €52.8bn of European take-private value so far this year, up 32%, with the UK accounting for close to 60%. Eight of the ten take-privates completed in the third quarter involved UK companies, including Veritas Capital's buyout of Bodycote and a consortium deal for Spire Healthcare that included Ares. Moura links the trend to a weak London market that has left UK companies trading at a discount to private and overseas-listed peers.

Lower down the size range, California-based Accel-KKR agreed in September to buy AIM-listed construction software group Eleco for 235p a share in cash, a 74.7% premium, valuing it at about £207.6m. The most prominent example of the quarter, however, was KKR and Energy Capital Partners' £5.7bn take-private of Dublin-based DCC Energy. Shareholders approved the scheme on 18 September, and on 9 October DCC agreed to sell its Nexora technology division to One Equity Partners, a mid-market firm spun out of JPMorgan, at an enterprise value of $725m. DCC estimates the sale will add 42p a share to the cash its investors receive.

Concentration and the fourth quarter

US ownership is also deepening in assets American investors already control. Clearlake Capital, which held 61.5% of Chelsea FC, agreed in September to buy out co-owners Todd Boehly and Mark Walter; CNBC, citing the Financial Times, reported that the pair will receive a combined £950m in a deal valuing the club at £5bn. Fundraising shows a similar concentration: European private equity has raised €65.9bn across 99 funds this year, with established managers taking 89% of capital. Moura describes much of the market's resilience as "imported rather than homegrown".

The near-term outlook is softer. Sixteen deals exceeded €1bn in the third quarter, but PitchBook analysts say many were priced before the ECB's September increase and expect that resilience to fade in the fourth quarter. US financing is not immune either: the Federal Reserve raised its target range by a quarter point to 3.75%–4.00% in September, its first increase since 2023. If American credit markets tighten too, the advantage that has carried European dealmaking could narrow.