Top 10 Industries for PE Platform Investments in 2021
We reviewed all private equity platform investments in 2021 and ranked them by industry. The following Top 10 industries represent nearly half of all private equity platform acquisitions in 2021:
TOP 10 INDUSTRIES
- Software
- Manufacturing
- Healthcare
- Technology
- Food & Beverage
- Financial Services
- Digital
- Education
- Industrial Services
- E-Commerce
The chart below shows each of these industries as a percentage of the total PE platform acquisitions in 2021. Clearly, Software was the major industry of interest for private equity in 2021, representing17% of all platform acquisitions.

Top 3 PE Firms Acquiring the Most Portfolio Companies in Each Sector
Software
Insight Partners (New York, NY, US)
Insight Partners is a global private equity and venture capital firm.
Thoma Bravo (Chicago, IL, US)
Thoma Bravo invests in mid-sized and smaller software and technology companies.
JMI Equity (Baltimore, MD, US)
JMI Equity is a growth equity firm focused on software companies.
Manufacturing
Graycliff Partners (New York, NY, US)
Graycliff Partners invests in U.S. lower middle-market companies, typically in niche manufacturing, business services, and value-added distribution.
Arcline Investment Management (San Francisco, CA, US)
Arcline Investment Management invests in control buyouts of niche, high-quality middle-market businesses operating across a wide range of industries.
Blue Wolf Capital Partners (New York, NY, US)
Blue Wolf Capital Partners invests in middle market companies.
Healthcare
Bain Capital Double Impact (Boston, MA, US)
Bain Capital Double Impact invests in companies that provide social and environmental impact.
Insight Partners (New York, NY, US)
Insight Partners is a global private equity and venture capital firm.
H.I.G. Capital (Miami, FL, US)
H.I.G. Private Equity provides capital to small and medium-sized companies.
Technology
Insight Partners (New York, NY, US)
Insight Partners is a global private equity and venture capital firm.
Business Growth Fund (London, UK)
Business Growth Fund offers capital and strategic support to small and medium-sized companies.
General Atlantic (New York, NY, US)
General Atlantic provides capital and strategic support for growth companies.
Food & Beverage
Manna Tree Partners (Vail, CO, US)
Manna Tree Partners invests growth capital through minority investments in the next generation of health food companies.
Bain Capital (Boston, MA, US)
Bain Capital partners with management teams to provide the strategic resources to build great companies.
EQT Partners (Stockholm, Sweden)
EQT Partners makes invests in companies with three overall investment strategies – Private Capital (including Ventures, Mid Market, Equity), Real Assets (including Infrastructure and Real Estate), and Credit.
Private Equity Transactions
Watch 1-minute demos on how to quickly find transactions of interest.
Auto-Search – Automate Your M&A Research
Learn more about our new product: Auto Search | Demo Video