Why the secondaries surge? Download PitchBook’s Report here. Secondaries fundraising continues apace, gathering another $26.3 billion through early Q4. That puts 2018 slightly behind last year’s record, but this year will still mark a third consecutive year with strong numbers. As a strategy, secondaries have garnered attention recently—buy-side LPs are pushing for PE exposure at the

The chart that never goes down Download PitchBook’s Report here. Between 2004 and 2008—considered by many to be the boom days of private equity—PE’s combined company inventory climbed 74% in the United States. Over the span of five years, in other words, the number of companies under PE control came fairly close to doubling. That was

Can today’s multiples withstand a downturn? Download PitchBook’s Report here. Middle-market purchase price multiples have nearly doubled since 2009. To be sure, most metrics and indicators have bounced back substantially from the crisis, and private equity is no exception. PE valuations have risen moderately from year to year, sometimes in fits and starts, and now stand

Barreling toward a record Download PitchBook’s Report here. US middle market PE activity is set to break records this year. Through Q3, more than 2,000 transactions have closed totaling $289 billion in investments. At that pace, 2018 is looking at more than 2,700 deals at more than $385 billion invested....

Are SBOs a drag on fund performance? Download PitchBook’s Report here. Secondary buyouts are one of the most critiqued aspects of the private equity industry. But SBOs aren’t going anywhere, and they represent one of the largest deal sourcing opportunities in today’s market. Still, it’s worthwhile to investigate the wisdom of buying “used” portfolio companies, since

Foreign investment in the spotlight Download PitchBook’s Report here. Foreign PE investment in US-based companies has been strong going back to 2014. And consistent. Since 2014, non-US investors were involved in about 12% of all US-based PE investments per year. The US private equity market is easily the most developed market available, and while the European

PE fundraising trending down Download PitchBook’s Report here. The PE fundraising trail hasn’t been too difficult to navigate lately. For one, most newly raised funds are larger in size than their predecessors. About 69% of the funds that closed last year were larger than their predecessors, and the percentage was even higher for 2016 vintages—76%. Moreover,

PE firms are no longer clubbing Download PitchBook’s Report here. Club deals are something of a sticky issue in the private equity world. PE firms themselves don’t mind them—the risk is spread around—nor do lenders mind them, who also presume less risk with more reputable investors involved. Dry powders levels have skyrocketed, and club deals allow

Are the good times over? Download PitchBook’s Report here. Private equity’s calling card, from its early days in the 80s through the mid-2000s, has been its ability to beat the market. The asset class pretty handily beat stocks in bull and bear markets alike. Until 2006, LPs in PE funds had at least a 50/50 shot

GP stakes investing—a new trend, or market timing? Download PitchBook’s Report here. Last week we discussed the rising trend of GP stake sales, which are now officially in record territory in terms of volume. For now, GP stake transactions are highly concentrated in large, top-performing firms. That makes sense—buying a stake in a GP hinges on