2015 Sees U.S. PE Fundraisers Slow Down U.S. private equity fund managers have had a fair measure of success lately. Last year, the median time it took a fund to close was 12.8 months, one of the shorter times on record, while over 87% of funds raised hit their target, for the second year in…

28% of U.S. PE Capital Overhang Predates 2013 Vintages Over a quarter of U.S. private equity dry powder is locked up in vintages from 2012 or earlier. That represents about $147 billion total that PE firms have on hand that now exceeds, give or take, three or more years in age—all these figures are sourced…

Median PE Hold Times for the U.S. Middle Market Drop For the first time in years, private equity firms saw their U.S. median hold periods for middle-market portfolio companies decline over the past couple years. After climbing to unprecedented highs in 2014—six years for companies that were later… Login to Read More...

Will Aging Portfolios Still Drive PE Exits in 2016? One of the primary storylines behind the private equity sellers’ market of the past few years has been the need for funds with aging holdings to liquidate as they threaten to drag down overall returns. As PitchBook data illustrates, as of the end of 2015, close…

Is There a Glut of Private Equity Firms? Since the turn of the century, there has been a steady surge in the number of private equity firms that are active worldwide. From 1,545 in 2000, the number has crested to 3,918, an increase of over 153%. As was perhaps to be expected, the rate… Login

Long proclaimed as one of the U.S. sectors most ripe for private equity investment, given its growth prospects as well as its relatively fragmented nature, healthcare services saw a decade high of 203 completed buyouts in 2015. Total deal value also surged after staying relatively flat for three years,… Login to Read More...

PE Fundraisers Still Riding High The latest numbers for private equity fundraising success—as measured by how many funds hit their target—are impressive to say the least. In 4Q 2015, over 90% of PE funds raised worldwide hit their targets. 88 funds were raised in that time period, according to PitchBook data, amassing $76.4 billion in…

Caution Growing Among PE Investors Assessing investor sentiment is always somewhat of a tricky prospect, but one useful heuristic is the extent to which buyers wax optimistic about their most recent deals. In a recent… Login to Read More...

Global PE Cash Flows for 2015 Already Strong In the first quarter of 2015, private equity firms worldwide have already distributed $168.2 billion back to their limited partners, while calling down $114.3 billion. Those two sums combined produce a net cash flow for 2015 of $53.9 billion already, no less than 32% of last year’s…

Could PE Return Multiples Begin to Stagnate? Driven by the seller’s market over the past few years, recent private equity fund vintages have seen their return multiples improve considerably. Distributions back to limited partners have risen to staggering levels, with 2014 seeing no less than $467.8 billion alone…. Login to Read More...