The Carve-Out | Blackstone quits TikTok, IPOs surge, continuation fund exits hit $41bn
Private Equity Wire®
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This week in private equity
🕺 Blackstone has exited a Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic -led bid for TikTok’s US operations, amid delays tied to US-China tensions and political scrutiny.
📢 The PE giant is, however, preparing to take more of its portfolio companies public than at any time since the 2021 IPO boom, according to President and COO Jon Gray.
🏦 And it isn't alone in eyeing public markets. BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital are pushing ahead with plans to float Shawbrook , potentially as early as H2 2025.
💰 On theme, Advent's NIQ raised $1bn in its US IPO this week, pricing 50 million shares at $21 each. Proceeds from the listing will be used to reduce NIQ’s $4.3bn debt load.
🏈 Meanwhile, CVC is exploring a refinancing of its multi-league sports portfolio through a new vehicle dubbed ‘SportsCo,’ which could be valued at up to £9bn.
🚀 And in our latest Story of Transformation, BGF ’s Rob Johnson shares insights on the firm’s recent exit and booming defence sector.
The Week in Numbers
💸 $41bn – The value of deals exited via continuation funds in H1 2025, making up 19% of all private equity exits so far this year.
✈️ 3.5x – The return Bain Capital generated on its investment in Virgin Australia , following a 30% stake sale in last month’s IPO.
💊 2017 – The year Bain Capital and Cinven first backed German pharma firm STADA Arzneimittel AG / ADR , now reportedly the target of a €10bn majority acquisition by CAPVEST VENTURE PARTNERS, LLC .
📞 50% – The combined stake held by Cinven, KKR, and Providence in Spanish telecoms joint venture MasOrange, now up for sale with an initial valuation target of €5bn.
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The Bottom Line…
By varying estimates, GP-leds were meant to amount account for half or more of all secondaries transactions through 2025. Now, continuation vehicle exits have made up nearly a fifth of all PE exits in H1 2025 – amounting to $41bn of deal value according to Jeffries.
Continuation vehicles have allowed companies to stay private for longer, creating a liquidity engine for LPs and a vibrant exchange platform for managers. Sophistication in this space has evolved in response, largely, to a muted IPO landscape.
And with IPOs now surging in the world of large caps, the industry is well set up with a range of exit options, potentially bringing with it – barring further market shocks – a normalisation of liquidity and a clearing of the long overweight PE books.
Aftab Bose, Head of Content, Private Equity Wire®
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