Growth deals in vogue Download PitchBook’s Report here. One sea change in the post-COVID PE market is the surge in growth deals. According to PitchBook’s latest US Breakdown Report, both 2020 and YTD 2021 have exceeded the $75 billion line, and 2021 is the first year we’ve gone past $80 billion. We’re on pace to see…

The exit bonanza continues Download PitchBook’s Report here. Through Q3, PE exit activity is well into record territory, according to PitchBook’s latest US PE Breakdown. We’re estimating $638.3 billion in exited capital so far, including a blockbuster $283.7 billion exited in the third quarter alone. That’s a record by a wide margin, eclipsing the old record…

Q3 was another blockbuster Download PitchBook’s Report here. No rest for the weary: PitchBook’s latest US PE Breakdown is out, and the third quarter set another new record. An estimated $297 billion was invested in Q3 across an estimated 2,227 deals. Both would be new records, as data continues to be tabulated. The value mark, $297…

PE’s growth compared to the public market Download PitchBook’s Report here. As an asset class, private equity’s growth has exploded over the past two decades. According to PitchBook’s latest Quantitative Perspectives Report, there are now twice as many PE-backed companies as there are public companies in the United States. Those numbers, aided by figures from the…

SPAC IPOs are down, SPAC acquisitions are up Download PitchBook’s Report here. SPAC IPO volume is down considerably in mid-2021. A decline was probably inevitable, considering how massive Q1 volume turned out to be. Between Q1 and Q2, a new PitchBook analyst note shows a 67% decline in SPAC IPO count and 81% fall in aggregate…

First-time fundraising bouncing back Download PitchBook’s Report here. Middle market fundraising posted a strong showing in H1, according to PitchBook’s latest US Middle Market Report. $68.4 billion was raised through June, which puts 2021 on pace to approach the 2019 record. Even if it doesn’t, the middle market is set to bounce back from a decline…

Another frenetic quarter for the middle market Download PitchBook’s Report here. PitchBook’s latest US Middle Market Report was released today. The frenetic pace of dealmaking continued into the second quarter, reaching an estimated $142.8 billion. That would mark the second highest quarterly total on record, behind Q4 2020’s $156.8 billion. Sandwiched between those two was a…

Emerging manager performance Download PitchBook’s Report here. A new PitchBook analyst note, Beyond Fund I, dives into several emerging manager topics. A few surprises stood out. The chart above, for example, shows fairly static performance between a manager’s first fund and subsequent ones. Debut funds do, though, see the most performance variation compared to later funds,…

Bigger funds across private capital Download PitchBook’s Report here. Private capital as a whole is enjoying an enthusiastic fundraising trail. PitchBook’s latest Private Fund Strategies Report, available here, covers a range of asset classes, including PE, VC, real estate, real assets, FoF and secondaries. The data shows a pronounced uptick in fund step-ups—or the difference between…

A recovery in private debt performance Download PitchBook’s Report here. As an asset class, private debt experienced its worst performance in a decade in Q1 2020. According to PitchBook’s latest Global Private Debt Report, private debt funds fell by 7% that quarter on a pooled IRR basis, which includes both realized and unrealized changes to portfolio…