Private equity heads west New York is the epicenter of private equity, as it has been since its beginning. Wall Street was already around when PE got its start, and the important supporting actors—namely lenders and bankers—were all a taxi ride away.The same is true for Silicon Valley and the venture industry,… Login to Read

Take-privates are cheap sometimes That’s according to Bain & Company, which made a salient point: “Despite the run-up in equity prices, public investors often undervalue companies they don’t understand.” That’s true, and the point is emphasized as public and private equity market multiples continue to converge…. Login to Read More...

Returns healthy, still under pressure Download PitchBook’s Report here. TVPI multiples—more simply known as investment multiples—remain healthy. Gains from post-vintage buckets (2010-2016) were all boosted by at least 0.08x over the past twelve months, with 2015 vintages leading the way with an overall boost of 0.16x…. Login to Read More...

Acacia funds Download PitchBook’s Report here. Acacia trees are those huge, canopy-like trees in Africa that giraffes feast on. It helps to be that tall—there’s virtually no competition to eat the leaves. Sheer size in private equity brings similar advantages, as only mega funds can compete for certain deals…. Login to Read More...

Are IRRs inflated? Download PitchBook’s Report here. It’s a slightly different question than asking whether IRRs are trustworthy in general. That debate has been around for years and will continue to be. The inflation question is being asked a bit louder nowadays, thanks to a renewed focus on subscription credit lines…. Login to Read More...

Downturn opportunities don’t last long Bain & Company released its annual private equity report this week. It’s required reading for the industry every year. One of their more salient points is the resiliency of purchase price multiples following downturns. In the two-year window between 2009 and 2011,… Login to Read More...

Are dry powder levels a concern? Download PitchBook’s Report here. PE capital overhang levels reached $800 billion last year between North America and Europe. For perspective, the buyout boom overhang peaked in 2008 at $599 billion. The cumulative weight of today’s dry powder isn’t the only difference between eras, however…. Login to Read More...

Bigger funds and lower margins Download PitchBook’s Report here. Over 90% of 2018 vintage PE funds were larger than their predecessors. That’s the first time in more than ten years that percentage has crept above 90%, the last being 2006.Opportunism is certainly at play, though its much more modest this time around…. Login to Read More...

The institutionalization of M&A Download PitchBook’s Report here. Last week we highlighted the growing convergence of public and private multiples. For investors who dabble in both markets, there’s a baked-in assumption of a private market discount, since money tied up in buyout funds is illiquid, partially justified by cheaper entry prices and higher returns…. Login to

Public and private valuations are converging Download PitchBook’s Report here. Middle-market PE multiples barely budged last year. We didn’t expect them to, and we don’t expect them to come down much in the near-term either, barring some significant macro development.2018 marked the sixth consecutive year with double-digit purchase price multiples,… Login to Read More...