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| The Weekend Pitch |
| September 7, 2025 |
| Presented by RSM US |
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| (Jenna O’Malley/PitchBook News) |
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It has been a challenging year for ESG. Sentiment in the US has shifted away from supporting ESG initiatives in both private and public markets.
Major global banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, have left the Net Zero Banking Alliance in the past year after ESG-related initiatives in the US faced mounting political backlash. PE firms such as Carlyle and TPG this year removed significant language related to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from SEC filings.
Across the Pond, Europe also appears to be losing momentum in sustainability fundraising, which was on the cusp of becoming mainstream.
According to PitchBook data, a record €84.1 billion (about $98.3 billion) was raised in 2024 under the EU's SFDR Articles 6, 8 or 9 affiliations, increasing sixfold from just €13.7 billion in 2019. The proportion of funds classified at the Article 8 level of sustainability rose to 25.1%, the highest since the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation was first implemented in 2021.
However, as of July 3 this year, only €10.1 billion had been raised in Article 6, 8 and 9 funds. Almost 95% of the capital raised was for other funds.
As Europe is left to find its own path amid an increasingly uncertain geopolitical and economic environment, is the ESG pullback a temporary correction or the start of a lasting decline?
I'm Emily Lai, and this is The Weekend Pitch. You can reach me at emily.lai@pitchbook.com or on X @ThisIsEmilyLai.
The politicization of ESG has led to a rise in greenhushing. Companies are deliberately choosing to downplay, underreport or avoid publicizing their genuine sustainability or ESG efforts, making data collection and decision-making more difficult.
"The US rollback can create a certain degree of fragmentation for European investors," said Cristian Echavarria, head of regulatory services at Holtara, the ESG services arm of Apex Group.
"It affects stewardship dynamics, as US managers are less supportive and even oppose ESG resolutions. This forces European managers to either source information directly or adapt their fundraising approach in the US, where anti-ESG sentiment makes it safer to frame sustainability in terms of financial materiality and risk management rather than regulation." |
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| The middle market is embracing AI to drive innovation and efficiency |
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Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the business landscape, and the middle market is at the forefront of this revolution. The RSM Middle Market AI Survey 2025 provides a comprehensive overview of how AI is being adopted and integrated into business practices across the middle market. This report highlights key trends, challenges and opportunities that organizations, including private equity firms investing in the middle market, are experiencing as they navigate the AI landscape.
The report addresses important questions into how middle market businesses are using AI, including the following:
- What are the key organizational areas in which AI is making an impact?
- How are companies measuring their return on investment for AI?
- What is the future of AI for the middle market?
View the report |
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Carlyle Group has become the latest to jump into the red-hot secondary market, with the company’s Alpinvest unit announcing it had wrapped up fundraising for its eighth secondary vehicle. How much did Carlyle raise?
A) $17 billion
B) $29 billion
C) $14 billion
D) $20 billion
Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch! |
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VC slows in the UK as
PE finds stride with smaller deals
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UK venture activity eased in H1 2025 under macroeconomic pressure, while PE found renewed strength through foreign capital and strategic dealmaking. Altogether, our latest UK Private Capital Breakdown finds a market adapting with evolving exit strategies.
- Early-stage VC valuations held up, led by biotech and AI, even as overall fundraising slowed. Big Data made a notable entry into the top 10 sectors, highlighting the continued relevance of AI-linked investment.
- PE deal value dipped as deal count surged, signaling a shift toward more agile transactions. US investors played a key role, participating in half of the UK's 20 biggest deals.
- While exit activity remains sluggish, secondaries are stepping up, with record continuation funds also offering alternative liquidity.
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Pharma biotools chugs along
with smaller deals, smaller exits
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VC deal activity in pharma biotools investment remained strong in Q2, with 102 deals totaling nearly $1 billion. Consistent activity has put 2025 on track to be a record year for deal count, even though total capital invested remains far below historical averages. AI drug discovery, multiomics and lab automation are driving strong seed and early-stage dealmaking. And a renewed focus on domestic manufacturing has created a buzz around biomanufacturing and synthetic biology.
Exit activity is also picking up, according to our latest Emerging Tech Research. However, large transactions are still rare, as strategic M&A accounted for nearly all the 18 exits this year. |
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| (Drew Sanders/PitchBook News) |
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“There’s incentive to price conservatively because a bad market reaction has long-term ramifications. People are happy when the price goes up, and sad when it goes down…it’s a real morale crusher.”
—Lise Buyer, co-founder of IPO adviser Class V Group, speaking to PitchBook News’ Kia Kokalitcheva about how this year’s post-Labor Day wave of companies going public will be different. This typically busy time for IPOs could be the most packed it has been in years. |
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