Socially distancing from high multiples Download PitchBook’s Report here. The median M&A multiple clocked in at 8.2x in Q1. That’s down from last year’s 9.8x median, according to PitchBook’s just-released North American M&A Report. One quarter does not a year make, but 2020 is probably an exception. The Q1 dip included two normal months, which won’t…

Different problems for real assets With fear permeating the real estate market, real assets are once again coming into focus. An upcoming PitchBook analyst note provides a retrospective on 2008 and potential implications for the current situation. Cash management was difficult for LPs twelve years ago. Real assets funds aged between four and eight years,…

Not a good time to raise your first fund Download PitchBook’s Report here. As expected, Q1 fundraising totals were soft, according to PitchBook’s PE Breakdown Report. Just 46 funds were closed totaling $45 billion, and much of that was cinched up in January or February. For context, last year’s figures were 249 funds totaling $315 billion,…

Exits are already down Download PitchBook’s Report here. Exit activity is bound for a tough year, as preliminary Q1 numbers confirm. Historically, first quarter exit totals are typically on the low end anyway; it’s common to see a lull coming off of fourth quarter sprints. Q1 2020 was slow even by that forgiving standard, down 37.3%…

When buyout funds face a crisis Download PitchBook’s Report here. The Financial Crisis of 2008 was a manmade one, which gave us a degree of confidence that strict regulatory changes could prevent a sequel. The current crisis arose from nature itself, which is quite a bit harder to regulate. The impact of this crisis is changing…

Competing interests for private equity Download PitchBook’s Report here. Private equity has lots of money at the ready—the question is what they will use it for. In the months ahead, investors will be looking at an unprecedented opportunity to buy. On the other hand, they’re also in very familiar territory of keeping their current crop of…

The private markets aren’t immune Download PitchBook’s Report here. Much was made of the “buoyant” nature of the SuperReturn conference earlier this month. The gathering took place just as stocks began stuttering and the opportunity for turnaround artists looked vibrant. Three weeks later, that consensus appears to be shifting as the underlying economy itself shifts…. Subscribe

Coronavirus and private equity Our 2020 PE predictions did not include a potentially global pandemic, which continues to roil the markets. It’s impossible to know where things will go from here—at least as panics go, this brings flashbacks of 2008 but feels fundamentally different. For private equity, the only playbook to consult is 2008-2011, since…

The ups and downs of secondaries Download PitchBook’s Report here. Last week we highlighted our new analyst note on extended holding periods. Now available, the note dives into the pros and cons of GP-led secondaries, which have steadily become more popular. The market has become the industry standard for handling successful assets that can’t be held…

Holding on to winners Last month we wrote about the decline in PE holding times, with the median dropping below five years for the first time in almost a decade. These figures represent portfolio companies and not fund durations (longer-dated funds are relatively new and don’t move the needle yet). PEGs are simply turning companies…