Dutch PE fundraising hits six-year high as dealmaking cools
Dutch PE fundraising hits six-year high as dealmaking cools.
Dutch PE sponsors raised capital at their fastest pace in years in the second quarter of this year, while turning more cautious in dealmaking, as pension reform drives a structural shift toward private markets.
According to PitchBook's Q2 2026 Netherlands Market Snapshot , Dutch PE fundraising reached €10.9 billion (about $12.5 billion) in the first half of the year, already surpassing every full-year total the country has posted since 2021.
PE deal value, on the other hand, fell sequentially in the second quarter to €6.3 billion across 142 deals, down from €6.8 billion and 158 deals in the first quarter. Sponsors also leaned into smaller, lower-risk transactions as add-ons accounted for 65.5% of PE deal count in the second quarter, up from 60.1% in the first.
The fundraising surge was driven by three mega-fund closes in quick succession. Main Capital Partners closed two funds in June, with Main Capital IX reaching its €4 billion hard cap and Main Foundation III on €1.25 billion.
In April, Waterland Private Equity Investments also closed its 10th flagship fund, Waterland Private Equity Fund X, on its €4 billion hard cap. It also closed the smaller Waterland Partnership Fund II on €600 million. Both funds reached their hard caps within four months of launch.
The strong fundraising figures coincide with a broader shift in Dutch institutional allocation.
The Future Pensions Act, which took effect on July 1, 2023, requires Dutch occupational pension schemes to transition from defined-benefit arrangements to contribution-based contracts by January 1, 2028. The reform introduces age-based investment risk profiles and removes guaranteed pension benefits, reducing the need for liability-matching portfolios.
The bill is expected to give pension funds greater scope to allocate to long-term private assets such as infrastructure and PE, providing domestic managers with a growing pool of local capital to draw on.
Patrick Kanters, CIO of private investments at APG Asset Management , which manages about €601 billion, told Bloomberg that PE now accounts for around 8% of the fund's portfolio, up from roughly 6% historically, as part of a wider move into private markets that he expects to grow from around 26% to 30% over the next five years, with infrastructure at the center of the expansion.
PIMCO expects more significant shifts between 2026 and 2027, as the bulk of large pension funds transition to the new DC strategy.
As the reform unfolds, the Netherlands is emerging as one of the most resilient fundraising markets in Europe.
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