Identifying likely buyout take-private targets Download PitchBook’s Report here. Since the inception of the strategy in the 1980s, buyout managers have maintained a core playbook: Invest in relatively small, underperforming companies at a reasonable price that still generate enough free cash flow (FCF) to service an increased debt burden…. Login to Read More...

Carveout activity rebounds: Why corporate owners are selling Download PitchBook’s Report here. At the same time interest rates inflected upward for PE borrowers, earnings growth inflected downward for business owners and corporations…. Login to Read More...

Median North America and Europe PE buyout EV/EBITDA multiple Download PitchBook’s Report here. A quarter in 2024, PitchBook data shows that buyout multiples remain elevated. The trailing 12-month mark for EV/EBITDA multiples in Europe and North America stands at 11.9x, relative to 14.1x for the first quarter of 2024…. Login to Read More...

Private debt fund performance Download PitchBook’s Report here. Drilling down to the major substrategies, mezzanine funds kicked into high gear with a one-year horizon return of 22.8% as of Q3 2023. This compares to a one-year return of 4.7% for distressed/special situation funds…. Login to Read More...

Introducing LCD’s dual-track default rate: Sponsors drive distressed exchanges Download PitchBook’s Report here. In tandem with LCD’s legacy criteria capturing general defaults of missed payments and bankruptcy filings, LCD is now tracking a separate rate that includes distressed transactions stemming from out-of-court restructurings, exchanges, and subpar buybacks, or so-called “distressed exchanges.”… Login to Read More...

Median PE middle-market EV/EBITDA multiples Download PitchBook’s Report here. Both EV/EBITDA and EV/revenue multiples tell a similar story for middle markets: Valuations reached their apex in 2021 and have declined sharply ever since. Middle-market PE deal multiples are now down 25.0% to 40.6% from their peak, and unlike the overall M&A market, there are no signs…

Private equity Download PitchBook’s Report here. With dealmaking flush, PE capital calls as a percentage of dry powder reached 49.7% in 2021, well above the 35.3% historical average for the asset class going back to 2000. PE funds as a whole delivered 33.9% of NAV back to LPs in distributions, also well above the historical average…

Share of PE capital raised by size bucket Download PitchBook’s Report here. By count, middle-market funds (between $100 million and $5 billion) accounted for 62.7% of PE fundraising, the highest percentage since 2008. In particular, we saw growth within the $500 million to $1 billion fund bucket, which grew from 82 new funds in 2022 to…

Gross private credit returns/appreciation by manager* Download PitchBook’s Report here. The top seven US-listed alt managers with credit strategies—including TPG, as its acquisition of Angelo Gordon (AG) closed on November 2, 2023—posted median Q4 and 2023 returns of 4.0% and 16.4%, respectively, which compares favorably to the 9.8% PE gross returns referenced above. Not all of…

Despite the uptick in LBO EBITDA yields, the risk-free rate’s move up makes 2023 valuations particularly unattractive, historically speaking. Download PitchBook’s Report here. Comparing EBITDA yields to the 10-year Treasury allows us to normalize for the interest rate environment when each vintage was beginning to make their leveraged investments. We then net that against buyout fund…