Private equity investors: 15 firms doing growth and buyout deals

Private equity looks different than venture capital. Most PE firms want to see profitability or a clear path there, they write larger checks, and they often take majority stakes. Growth equity firms will back high-growth companies at minority stakes, while traditional PE firms do buyouts. Expect $10M-$500M+ investments depending on your revenue and growth profile.

Quick list

Picking the right PE investor

Profitability requirements: Most PE firms won't look at unprofitable companies unless you're growing 80-100%+ annually with clear unit economics. They care about EBITDA, cash flow, and realistic paths to profitability. Growth equity firms are more flexible but still want positive unit economics.

Check size and ownership: PE firms typically write $10M-$500M+ checks and often want 20-80% ownership depending on deal structure. Growth equity firms stay at 10-30% minority stakes, while buyout firms take majority control. Know which structure fits your goals before taking meetings.

Revenue requirements: Growth equity firms want $10M-$50M+ ARR for software companies. Traditional PE buyout firms want $50M-$500M+ in revenue. If you're doing $5M ARR, you're too early for most PE investors regardless of growth rate.

Decision timeline: Expect 12-24 weeks from first meeting to close. PE firms run extensive financial and operational diligence, meet with customers, review contracts, and involve operating partners. This takes longer than VC deals but the check sizes are much larger.

Value creation plans: PE firms will present detailed operational improvement plans during diligence. They'll want to replace executives, cut costs, or change your go-to-market strategy. Growth equity firms are less hands-on but still expect regular board involvement and strategic input.

Exit expectations: PE firms typically hold investments for 4-7 years and want 2-3x returns minimum. Upload your deck to Ellty and share trackable links with PE partners. You'll see if they actually review your financial projections or just skim the executive summary. PE investors spend significant time on your P&L and cash flow models.

Portfolio operations: Most PE firms have operating partners who work with portfolio companies on sales optimization, cost reduction, or international expansion. This can be very valuable or feel like micromanagement depending on your leadership team's experience.

How to approach PE investors

Build your financial model: PE firms expect detailed three-statement models with monthly granularity, cohort analysis, and sensitivity tables. Your financials need to be audit-ready before first meetings. They'll find every inconsistency in your revenue recognition or cost allocation.

Show profitability path: Even growth equity firms want to see how you reach profitability or positive free cash flow. Build a credible model showing you can grow efficiently with their capital. PE investors won't back indefinite losses hoping for an exit.

Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and create trackable links for each PE firm. PE investors spend 10-15 minutes on initial deck reviews and forward them to operating partners for feedback. You'll see which financial slides get the most attention and whether they skip your team background.

Get warm introductions: Ask your investment bankers, board members, or other portfolio company CEOs for intros. PE firms take cold outreach seriously but warm intros move 3-5x faster through their process. Direct emails have <2% response rates at established PE firms.

Target the right sector teams: PE firms organize by industry verticals like software, healthcare, or consumer. Find the partner who covers your sector and has done similar deals recently. Don't pitch the general partner who only does manufacturing buyouts with your SaaS company.

Prepare for deep diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with 36 months of financial statements, customer contracts, cap table history, and employee agreements before meetings. PE investors will request detailed customer references, competitive win/loss analysis, and product roadmaps. They'll spend weeks reviewing everything.

Time your process: Start PE conversations 6-9 months before you need capital. Their diligence process takes 3-6 months and you'll want multiple term sheets to negotiate properly. Don't wait until you're running out of cash.

Understand deal structures: PE firms use different structures - minority growth equity, majority recaps, or full buyouts. Know which structure works for your situation. Majority deals mean you're working for the PE firm, minority deals mean they're your partner with board seats.

Why private equity funding matters in 2026

PE firms invested $1.2T globally in 2024 and remain active in 2026 despite higher interest rates. Growth equity deals compressed 40% from 2021 peaks but PE firms are deploying capital selectively for profitable companies with strong unit economics.

Traditional venture capital funding for late-stage companies dropped significantly, creating more opportunities for PE growth equity investors. Companies with $20M-$100M revenue that would have raised from growth VCs at 15-20x revenue multiples in 2021 are now taking PE growth equity at 6-10x revenue multiples. The capital is available but expectations changed.

15 top private equity investors

1. Vista Equity Partners

Vista specializes in enterprise software buyouts and growth investments. They manage $100B+ and focus exclusively on B2B software companies with recurring revenue models.

• Recent Deals: Pluralsight $3.5B buyout (2021, exited via Skillsoft 2024), Finastra merger (2024), Jamf take-private $2.4B (2024)
• LinkedIn: Robert Smith, Brian Sheth
• Check Size: $50M-$5B+
• Stage Focus: Growth equity and buyouts for profitable software companies
• Location: Austin, Texas
• Website: vistaequitypartners.com

2. Thoma Bravo

Thoma Bravo runs $130B+ focused entirely on software investments. They've completed 450+ transactions and prefer majority buyouts of established software businesses.

• Recent Deals: Darktrace take-private $5.3B (2024), SailPoint $6.9B buyout (2024), ForgeRock $2.3B acquisition (2023)
• LinkedIn: Orlando Bravo, Holden Spaht
• Check Size: $100M-$10B+
• Stage Focus: Buyouts of profitable software companies
• Location: Chicago, Illinois / San Francisco, California
• Website: thomabravo.com

3. General Atlantic

General Atlantic does growth equity investments in tech, healthcare, and consumer companies. They manage $85B+ and typically take 10-30% minority stakes in scaling businesses.

• Recent Deals: Anthropic $4B growth round (2024), Gusto $500M Series E (2024), Samsara $300M Series F pre-IPO (2021)
• LinkedIn: Bill Ford, Anton Levy
• Check Size: $50M-$500M
• Stage Focus: Late-stage growth equity for scaling companies
• Location: New York, New York
• Website: generalatlantic.com

4. Silver Lake

Silver Lake manages $100B+ focused on technology investments. They do both growth equity and buyouts for enterprise software, fintech, and infrastructure companies.

• Recent Deals: Endeavor take-private $13B (2024), Wiz $1B Series E participation (2024), Qualtrics take-private $12.5B (2023)
• LinkedIn: Egon Durban, Greg Mondre
• Check Size: $100M-$5B+
• Stage Focus: Growth equity and buyouts for tech companies
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: silverlake.com

5. Insight Partners

Insight manages $90B+ focused entirely on software, internet, and data businesses. They invest from Series B through buyouts with typical minority growth stakes.

• Recent Deals: Veeam $5B growth round (2024), Contentful $175M Series F (2024), Checkr $150M Series E (2024)
• LinkedIn: Jeff Horing, Deven Parekh
• Check Size: $20M-$500M
• Stage Focus: Series B through growth equity for software companies
• Location: New York, New York
• Website: insightpartners.com

6. Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners focuses on technology buyouts with $45B under management. They target $200M-$2B enterprise value companies in software, internet, and tech-enabled services.

• Recent Deals: Fortra software roll-up (2024), SonicWall acquisition (2024), BMC Software buyout participation (2024)
• LinkedIn: Dipanjan Deb, Ezra Perlman
• Check Size: $50M-$2B
• Stage Focus: Buyouts and growth equity for tech companies
• Location: San Francisco, California
• Website: franciscopartners.com

7. Summit Partners

Summit Partners runs $35B+ in growth equity and credit strategies. They invest in tech, healthcare, and consumer companies with proven business models and strong growth.

• Recent Deals: Snyk $196M Series G (2024), Recorded Future growth investment (2024), Ontic $40M Series B (2024)
• LinkedIn: Martin Mannion, Greg Serrurier
• Check Size: $25M-$150M
• Stage Focus: Growth equity for scaling companies
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Website: summitpartners.com

8. TA Associates

TA Associates manages $65B+ across growth equity and buyout strategies. They focus on profitable companies in tech, healthcare, financial services, and consumer sectors.

• Recent Deals: Auth0 $120M Series F (2020, sold to Okta 2021), Webflow $120M Series C (2023), Split Software $100M growth round (2024)
• LinkedIn: Hythem El-Nazer, Brian Conway
• Check Size: $50M-$250M
• Stage Focus: Growth equity and small buyouts
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Website: ta.com

9. Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus runs $80B+ investing across sectors with strong focus on tech, healthcare, and financial services. They do both growth equity and control buyouts.

• Recent Deals: Lattice $175M Series F (2024), Clari $150M Series F (2024), nCino growth investment participation (2024)
• LinkedIn: Jeffrey Perlman, Adarsh Sarma
• Check Size: $100M-$500M
• Stage Focus: Late-stage growth and buyouts
• Location: New York, New York
• Website: warburgpincus.com

10. Bain Capital

Bain Capital manages $185B+ across private equity, credit, and venture strategies. Their tech opportunities fund focuses on growth equity and buyouts for software companies.

• Recent Deals: Envestnet acquisition participation (2024), Blue Yonder growth investment (2024), Kaseya merger support (2024)
• LinkedIn: Matt Harris, Merline Saintil
• Check Size: $75M-$1B+
• Stage Focus: Growth equity and buyouts for tech
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Website: baincapital.com

11. Blackstone Growth

Blackstone Growth (BXG) is Blackstone's growth equity platform managing $20B+. They write large checks for late-stage companies and focus on tech, healthcare, and consumer sectors.

• Recent Deals: Simpro $200M growth round (2024), MeridianLink growth investment (2024), Bumble take-private $6.6B (2024)
• LinkedIn: Jon Korngold, Maryam Daryabegi
• Check Size: $100M-$1B+
• Stage Focus: Late-stage growth and pre-IPO
• Location: New York, New York
• Website: blackstone.com/businesses/growth-equity

12. KKR NextGen Tech

KKR's tech growth fund manages $15B+ focused on enterprise software, fintech, and internet companies. They invest from late Series B through pre-IPO rounds.

• Recent Deals: GoTo (LogMeIn) take-private $4.5B (2024), Kong $175M Series E (2024), AppLovin growth investment (2024)
• LinkedIn: Mattia Caprioli, Ram Narasimhan
• Check Size: $75M-$400M
• Stage Focus: Late-stage growth equity and buyouts
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: kkr.com

13. TPG Growth

TPG Growth is TPG's growth equity platform with $24B under management. They invest in consumer, tech, and healthcare companies with proven business models.

• Recent Deals: Miro $400M Series C (2022), UiPath growth participation (2024), ServiceTitan growth investment (2024)
• LinkedIn: Bill McGlashan, Nehal Raj
• Check Size: $50M-$300M
• Stage Focus: Late-stage growth equity
• Location: San Francisco, California
• Website: tpg.com

14. Carlyle Growth

Carlyle Growth manages $12B+ focused on tech and healthcare growth companies. They typically take 10-30% stakes in companies scaling from $20M-$100M+ revenue.

• Recent Deals: SailPoint growth round (2023), Arctic Wolf $401M Series F (2024), WalkMe growth investment (2024)
• LinkedIn: Mark Patricof, Peter Cummings
• Check Size: $40M-$200M
• Stage Focus: Growth equity for tech and healthcare
• Location: Washington DC / San Francisco, California
• Website: carlyle.com/investment-solutions/carlyle-growth

15. Clearlake Capital

Clearlake manages $70B+ focused on software, industrials, and consumer investments. They do both control buyouts and minority growth investments with strong operational focus.

• Recent Deals: Pluralsight merger (2024), Quest Software roll-up (2024), Cornerstone OnDemand take-private $5.2B (2021)
• LinkedIn: Behdad Eghbali, José Feliciano
• Check Size: $50M-$1B+
• Stage Focus: Growth equity and buyouts for software
• Location: Santa Monica, California
• Website: clearlake.com

How Ellty helps with PE rounds

These 15 private equity investors closed deals throughout 2024-2025 and remain active in 2026. Most want to see $10M+ revenue and strong unit economics before engaging seriously.

Upload your financial model and pitch deck to Ellty and create trackable links for each PE firm. PE investors spend 15-20 minutes reviewing materials initially and often forward them to operating partners and sector analysts. You'll see exactly which financial slides get attention and whether they actually open your cohort analysis or skip straight to the P&L.

When PE firms start formal diligence, set up an Ellty data room with your complete financial history, customer contracts, and operational metrics. PE diligence teams will request 100+ documents and you'll want to track when they access specific files. You'll know when their operating partners review your sales compensation structure or when their analysts pull your cash flow statements for the third time.

Common questions

What's the difference between growth equity and buyout PE firms?

Growth equity firms take 10-30% minority stakes and expect you to stay as CEO. Buyout firms take 50-100% control and often replace executives. Growth equity works if you want capital to scale, buyouts work if you're ready to exit and want liquidity.

What revenue do I need for PE investment?

Growth equity firms typically want $10M-$50M+ ARR for software companies or $20M-$100M+ for other sectors. Buyout firms want $50M-$500M+ revenue. Below these thresholds you're better off with traditional VCs or staying bootstrapped.

How much equity do PE investors take?

Growth equity firms take 10-30% for their investment. Buyout firms take majority stakes of 50-80%+. The specific percentage depends on your valuation, the check size, and deal structure. PE firms use leverage less frequently now than pre-2022.

Do PE firms help with operations?

Yes, but their help looks different than VCs. PE operating partners focus on sales optimization, cost reduction, M&A integration, and management hiring. This can be valuable if you need operational expertise or intrusive if you're already running efficiently.

What returns do PE investors expect?

PE firms target 2-3x returns minimum over 4-7 year hold periods. Growth equity firms accept lower returns for less risk, buyout firms want higher returns for operational improvement execution. They'll model your exit valuation and growth assumptions extensively during diligence.

Will PE firms replace my management team?

Growth equity firms rarely replace CEOs unless performance deteriorates significantly. Buyout firms often bring in new CEOs and CFOs as part of their value creation plan. Ask what they did with management teams at their last three portfolio companies.