Why EQT Is Bringing Secondaries Into Its Core Platform

January 26, 2026

EQT’s agreement to acquire Coller Capital in a $3.2 billion deal marks an important shift in how private equity firms are thinking about liquidity. Announced last week, the transaction brings together a large global private equity platform with the firm that helped build the secondaries market from the ground up. It reflects how portfolio management and capital flexibility are becoming central to long-term strategy rather than secondary considerations.

Coller Capital has spent decades focused on secondaries, giving institutional investors a way to buy and sell private equity interests well before the market reached its current scale. By acquiring Coller, EQT is bringing secondaries directly into its core platform at a time when traditional exits remain uneven. The move shows that managing liquidity across a fund’s life cycle now carries as much weight as sourcing new investments.

The timing of the deal matters. Exit markets have been slow to fully reopen, and many LPs are paying closer attention to pacing and duration. Secondaries offer a way to adjust exposure, access liquidity, and reposition portfolios without waiting for full realizations. For GPs, they provide tools to extend hold periods and support long-term value creation without forcing exits based on market timing.

For allocators and family offices, this acquisition reinforces a greater shift across private markets. Capital is moving toward strategies that offer flexibility and control alongside return potential. Secondaries are increasingly being used as an active portfolio management tool rather than a reactive solution.

The EQT and Coller deal dictates how private equity is adapting to a more mature market environment. Liquidity management and capital efficiency are becoming essential parts of platform design. As secondaries continue to grow, moves like this suggest they will play a larger role in shaping how private market investing evolves from here.

LPshares is a secondary marketplace for limited partner interests in private real estate and alternative assets.