The Rise of Saudi Secondary Buyouts in 2026: A High-conviction Liquidity Shift

On the ground, Saudi PE deal activity in 2026 has already shown a sharp recovery in value, even if it is still building breadth. PitchBook data cited by Yahoo Finance put Saudi Arabia PE deal value at $834 million in H1 2026, surpassing the full-year 2025 total of $449.9 million, while the number of PE deals reached 17 in the first six months. The same reporting noted concentration in established sectors: B2B led with $450 million in investments, followed by B2C at $223.7 million and healthcare at $159.8 million. As capital finds scaled, often non-venture-backed companies through single-asset transactions, the logic of trading mature holdings between sponsors becomes stronger—especially when sellers want liquidity and buyers want proven cash flows.

Why Secondaries Are Accelerating in 2026

The Saudi secondary buyouts conversation in 2026 sits inside a much larger global surge in secondaries activity, driven by liquidity needs and new GP tools. Jefferies reported global private equity secondary transaction volume of $240 billion in 2025, up 48% from 2024’s $162 billion. Lazard and Campbell Lutyens published nearby figures—$233 billion and $225 billion—reinforcing that 2025 cleared $200 billion in global secondaries volume. Jefferies also said $137 billion of its 2025 total happened in the second half alone. In separate 2026 data, Evercore cited record secondary transaction volumes of $121 billion in H1 2026, with GP-led deals at roughly $65 billion, or 54% of the market, and single-asset continuation funds at $34 billion, up 88% year over year. Those numbers matter for Saudi Arabia because they describe the mechanism Saudi managers and allocators can use when traditional exits are harder and holding periods stretch.

Saudi capital is already adapting to the same liquidity constraints that power secondaries elsewhere, and it is doing so with a preference for transparency and diversification. Markets Group reported that Saudi-based Al Muhaidib Group is increasing exposure to LP-led secondaries, mid-market buyouts, and co-investments as PE distributions dry up. Its CIO, Junaid Jafar, said the firm mainly sticks with LP-led secondaries because “you get diversification on day one,” “you know what you are buying,” and “you start getting capital back earlier.” Meanwhile, fundraising structures are changing inside the Kingdom too. Yahoo Finance reported that Saudi PE fundraising historically happened deal by deal, but a growing group of funds is moving to blind-pool structures, supported by government-anchored capital. The same reporting cited Jadwa Investment’s GCC Private Equity Fund I closing in May at $341.5 million, backed by Saudi Venture Capital, as the largest Saudi PE fund close since 2021 (per PitchBook data). As blind-pool managers build portfolios and investors seek liquidity, secondaries become a natural path for sponsor-to-sponsor trading.

What emerges in 2026 is not just more activity, but a clearer playbook for trading assets without waiting for an IPO or a conventional M&A exit. IMARC described Saudi PE investors shifting toward growth-stage and mid-market opportunities and away from large leveraged buyouts, with attention on technology, healthcare, renewable energy, logistics, and advanced manufacturing. In parallel, global secondaries data shows how continuation vehicles and GP-led transactions have turned secondaries into an active portfolio management tool rather than a last-resort liquidity option. For Saudi Arabia, where H1 2026 PE deal value rebounded to $834 million while deal count remained at 17, secondaries can complement primary dealmaking: they can provide liquidity, keep prized assets held longer, and let incoming owners underwrite businesses with operating history rather than early-stage projections.