PitchBook's 2026 EMEA Private Capital Outlook projects the ratio of PE-backed companies to public companies in Europe will hit a record 2.3x, up from 2.1x at end of 2025. Since 2014, PE-backed companies have doubled to roughly 13,800, while publicly listed firms have stagnated between 5,700 and 7,000 for two decades.

Robert Seminara, Partner and Head of Europe at Apollo Global Management, writes in the firm's 2026 EMEA Outlook that Europe stands at a fundamental inflection point defined not by a single macro cycle but by a comprehensive rewiring of the region's financial and industrial architecture—where partnership has re-emerged as the ultimate competitive advantage and private capital is becoming central to unlocking the next chapter of continental growth.

European private markets signal recovery with AI driving growth, while new exit strategies and regional shifts reshape investment landscape.