EU Commission Seeks Feedback on Private Equity Exits

EC Finance News

Published March 2nd, 2026

Detected March 18th, 2026

Summary

The European Commission is seeking stakeholder feedback on obstacles faced by private equity investors when exiting investments. The consultation aims to inform potential policy actions to improve capital access for EU startups and scaleups and is open until April 27, 2026.

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What changed

The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation to gather input on challenges private equity investors encounter when exiting their investments within the EU. This initiative, part of the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) workstream, seeks to identify barriers and explore potential solutions, including the merits of a secondary trading platform for private company shares and its use for raising new equity capital. The feedback will guide the Commission's decision on whether further regulatory action is warranted to enhance the availability of growth capital for EU startups and scaleups.

Regulated entities, particularly private equity investors, venture capital funds, and companies seeking early-stage capital, are encouraged to submit their views by the deadline of April 27, 2026. The input is crucial for shaping potential future policies aimed at improving exit opportunities and ensuring the continued flow of investment into innovative EU businesses. While this is a consultation and not yet a binding rule, active participation is important for those who may be affected by future policy changes designed to address these market frictions.

What to do next

Review consultation document on private equity exit obstacles.
Submit feedback on barriers and potential solutions by April 27, 2026.
Assess potential impact of a secondary trading platform for private company shares.

Source document (simplified)

The European Commission is seeking feedback on obstacles that private equity investors face when exiting their investments and possible ways to address these obstacles. The input will support the Commission’s work under the savings and investments union (SIU), in particular efforts to improve the access to finance for EU startups and scaleups.

Private financing, including from private equity or venture capital funds, plays an important role in supporting young and innovative companies, who often find it difficult to access traditional bank financing. Ensuring that exit opportunities are available, such as through sales of private equity stakes or through initial public offerings (IPOs), is crucial for the availability of capital, as investors depend on realised returns to fund future investments.

Despite past policy efforts, private equity investors in the EU continue to face challenges when seeking to exit their investments. For example, they may not be able to wait for an IPO to realise capital gains, or the lack of a credible valuation of private assets may hinder a transaction. Those difficulties reduce market activity, limiting the availability of growth capital and possibly prompting promising young companies to move outside the EU in search of funding.

Against this background, the Commission is seeking stakeholder views on

possible barriers or issues for exiting private equity investments in the EU
the merits and possible design features of a platform for secondary trading of private company shares
the potential of an extended use of such a platform for raising new equity capital The consultation is open until 27 April 2026 and targets a broad range of stakeholders, including companies in search of early‑stage capital and private equity investors. The feedback will inform the Commission’s decision on whether further action is merited in this area.

Respond to the consultation