Watermill Group

AUA Private Equity's Astrid Soto are among the top female dealmakers in the middle market.

Adient, Wabash and Watermill recently acquired manufacturing companies.

AE Industrial, Audax and Snow Phipps also backed manufacturing businesses.

Dealmakers share their perspectives on the evolution of private equity. Harris Williams' Giles Tucker, Watermill Group's Julia Karol, and Kainos Capital's Jay Desai are among those who chimed in.

Facing more competition than ever before, private equity firms are specializing within sectors, shoring up operational expertise and selling minority stakes to expand.

“One of the primary changes in the private equity industry is the rise of the family office,” says Watermill Group’s Julia Karol, in an interview at ACG’s InterGrowth 2017.

Dealmakers are bullish on the sector, and Apple just launched a $1 billion fund to invest in it.

“We are bullish on manufacturing in North America,” says Watermill Group founder Steve Karol.