Paul Pollock was recently quoted in a Pensions & Investments article that covers the outlook for private equity firms in 2026 across deals, exits, and fundraising.
The article reads:
Even as deal activity improved in 2025, with nearly $900 billion in deal activity through the third quarter, the private equity ecosystem is largely still unsatisfied, according to Paul Pollock, a partner at Crowell & Moring, a law firm focused on middle-market private equity firms.
“The industry consensus is it has to get better. And the industry’s been saying that now for two years because there really has not been a lot of deal volume in the last couple of years,” Pollock said. “You know, interest rates are too high, multiples have been too high. A lot of it is a hangover for the buyout frenzy that happened immediately after the pandemic.”
Pollock said deal activity was especially weak for lower and middle-market firms in 2025, a trend that could see a reversal next year as interest rates continue to ease, allowing for cheaper debt financing and stronger competition.
Within the middle market, Pollock said he expects AI-enabled healthcare companies to be of interest in 2026, noting that the inclusion of AI in a company’s mandate was of upmost importance to investors.
“We go to a big healthcare conference in Las Vegas every year. Two years ago, of the 15,000 people in all the booths there, maybe 20% had an AI angle. This year, it was basically 100%. So, if you didn’t have an AI angle, nobody’s looking at your company, nobody’s investing.”
Additionally, Pollock forecasted an uptick in middle-market deals within the governmental contractors space.
“Because of everything that’s going on in Washington. There’s a lot of consolidation going on right now, in the defense and aerospace industry,” he said.
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