M&G and CVC secondary deal reaches $1.1 billion amid record market

Key Facts

M&G and CVC announced on February 16 the completion of a $1.1 billion managed secondary deal, following its closing on December 31, 2025, expanding their investment partnership in the private equity market. Under the deal, funds advised by CVC committed $1.1 billion to M&G’s 2025 private equity secondaries fund. The proceeds will be used to buy a portfolio of private equity fund stakes, mostly in mature, mid-market buyout funds in North America. The companies said the deal provides immediate exposure to a diversified portfolio of investments. It comes in a secondary market that recorded activity at a record level in the first half of 2026, although this transaction closed before that period.

M&G retains management of the portfolios and direct relationships with the underlying fund managers, while the partnership enables future co-investments with those managers. M&G said the deal gives investors immediate exposure to a diversified portfolio of U.S. private equity funds, as well as access to its network of general partners. For CVC, an official at CVC Secondary Partners said the transaction represents an expansion of its long-standing relationship with M&G and gives investors exposure to a mature, diversified portfolio managed by private equity managers. An official at Evercore said the deal provides a liquidity solution for existing assets and expands the firms’ primary investment capabilities. The structure therefore combines the transfer of existing stakes to the new fund with M&G’s continued management of the portfolio and its relationships with the underlying managers.

Lazard data show the scale of the market in which the deal operates: secondary transactions totaled $124 billion in the first half of 2026, up approximately 28% year over year and setting a record for the period. Transactions in the 12 months ended in June totaled about $260 billion, twice the market’s 2021 level. First-half activity was split between $61 billion in GP-led deals and $63 billion in LP-led deals, with both routes setting new records. In 2025, the market grew 53% to $233 billion, compared with $152 billion in 2024, according to Lazard’s annual report. GP-led deals totaled $116 billion that year, versus $117 billion for LP-led deals.

Lazard linked continued demand for liquidity to the selectivity of traditional private equity exit channels, even as mergers and acquisitions activity recovered and IPO issuance returned. Distribution data underscore the pressure: S&P Global said the median distribution-to-paid-in capital ratio for private equity funds remained below 1x for all vintage years since 2018, based on first-quarter 2026 data. At the same time, the value of GP-led fund transactions rose 35% year over year to $65 billion in the first half of 2026, according to Evercore figures cited by S&P Global. Lazard said the entry of new investors, the rise of semi-liquid secondary investment vehicles and successful fundraising collectively increased the capital available for deployment in the market. These factors help explain the wider use of secondary deals to address liquidity needs and reorganize asset ownership, while traditional exit channels remain selective.

Institutions differed in their estimates of the market’s size in 2025: Jefferies estimated global transactions at $240 billion, up 48% year over year, and said the second half alone recorded $137 billion. In its report published in February, Jefferies forecast that first-half 2026 transaction volume would exceed $100 billion based on the pipeline, and saw a path for the market to approach $300 billion annually within 12 to 24 months. Campbell Lutyens reported that first-half 2026 transactions reached $120 billion, with GP-led and LP-led deal activity at similar levels; Lazard’s report estimated the volume at $124 billion for the same period. In an update published by William Blair in October, investors’ estimates of the market’s annual size in 2026 rose to $252 billion, from $250 billion in a survey at the start of the year. The firm said the final months of the year looked promising and that GP-led deal activity in the second half was expected to exceed the first half.