CAPCorp 2026, the reference congress in Spain for the private equity and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) industry, has closed this year's edition with a common message among experts: an increase in investment activity is anticipated in the short term and the role of corporate spin-offs --'carve-out'-- is consolidated as a central piece of new investment strategies.
During the meeting, speakers and attendees have emphasized the resilience of venture capital in the face of geopolitical uncertainty, liquidity shortages, and a high-interest-rate environment. At the same time, they have pointed to the technology, health, and defense sectors, framed within the European push for strategic security, as priority areas for channeling new investments.
The congress, held in Madrid on October 26 and 27, has brought together more than four hundred professionals from the investment ecosystem and is already facing its twenty-sixth edition, consolidated as a key event for the national market.
In the inaugural session, moderated by Pablo García Berdoy from LLYC, "Rosa Duce from Deutsche Bank Spain, and María Concepción Bravo from Mapfre AM, have pointed out that M&A remains active in a complex environment, although they have warned of the competitiveness gap compared to the United States, evidenced by the fact that only two of the ten largest deals of the year were European and none were technological."
Despite this disadvantage, the speakers have expressed confidence that simpler regulation will allow Europe to keep pace with other markets, supported by the fact that 80% of managers in Spain expect to close new deals in the next twelve months, even accepting higher costs and more demanding due diligence processes.
For his part, Eric Halverson from Qualitas Funds has focused on the extension of divestment timelines in the sector, which have lengthened from five to seven years, as many funds prefer to delay exit until they reach the desired valuation multiples.
In the same vein, Miguel Echenique from Altamarcam Partners has indicated that no waves of mergers and acquisitions as intense as those of the previous decade are expected, although a constant trickle of exit operations will give way to new reinvestments.
'Carve-out' as a strategic lever
In one of the panels, the experts have delved into the investment strategy based on 'carve-out'. "Valvanera Lecha, from LLYC, has defined it as a figure in transition from distress operations to becoming an active lever for strategic value creation, and Javier Rodríguez, from KPMG Spain, has indicated that efficiency has given way to disruptions, so that now there is divestment in very profitable but less resilient assets."
Likewise, "Rafael Pérez-Cea, from MCH Private Equity, and Carlos Julià, from Miura Partners, explained that in certain cases they allow retaining "trophy assets" beyond the usual investment duration of a fund without being forced to sell, or as an alternative when an IPO does not materialize."
In parallel, "On his side, Javier Casado, from Vecta Partners, emphasized that 'carve-outs' are increasingly an opportunity for executives involved in business development; while Pau Bermúdez-Cañete, from Suma Capital, explained that these opportunities have also reached the 'lower' and 'mid-market' and 'small caps', increasingly less intermediated by advisors and more focused on aligning "head, heart, and pocket"."