Add-ons vary by market Download PitchBook’s 2017 Annual US PE Middle Market Report click here. The buy-and-build model is popular in the PE industry. Investors’ appetite for add-ons stretches back about a decade, but most of the increase has taken place in the middle market, specifically at the lower end. Following the financial crisis, lower-…

Software is eating private equity Download PitchBook’s Report click here. The typical hold time for portfolio companies is 5-7 years. As we’ve discussed with the retail sector and others, a lot can change these days in that amount of time. Investors can get caught flat-footed by rapid developments in consumer behavior, energy prices, new legislation,…

A once-in-a-decade fundraising market Download PitchBook’s Report click here. Private equity is a scalable asset class. The same isn’t true for every asset class in the private market – venture funds, for example, tend to lose effectiveness if they grow too large, regardless of sector. Not so with PE, which broadens its target range with…

Welcome to the private debt show Download PitchBook’s Report click here. Following the financial crisis, raising funds for private debt vehicles has mirrored—and in some cases exceeded—the exponential growth of the larger private capital market. 2017 was a record year in capital commitments, which totaled more than $118 billion globally…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a

Why is PE so optimistic? Download PitchBook’s Report click here. Our friends and clients in the PE industry are a cheery bunch. No matter how much we analysts fret about deal multiples or the tepid exit market, buyers and sellers find reasons for optimism. Exhibit A comes from our latest PE Deal Multiples Report, released…

Is private equity at full capacity? Download PitchBook’s Report click here. 2017 may have been a watershed year for private equity. 2009 certainly was: for all the discussion about PE’s recovery post-crisis—a record seller’s market, record dry powder levels, another big fundraising boom—the number of new entrants slowed to a crawl in 2009 and never…

Buyout funds, distressed debt strategies outperform their peers Download PitchBook’s Report click here. How do private asset classes compare on a real and risk-adjusted basis? Our latest analyst note (Is the risk worth the wait?) gauged the risk/return profile of buyout funds between 2000 and 2012 against PE growth, PE energy and venture capital strategies,…

FoF needs a reset Download PitchBook’s Report click here. Are fund-of-funds obsolete? It’s a question that’s been asked over the years, but one that is taking on more urgency as the numbers continue to slide down and to the right. FoF fundraising declined a fourth straight year in 2016 and is on track for a…

The middle market isn’t cheap Download PitchBook’s Report click here. Middle market activity has never been as strong as it is now. What used to be a space to find bargains has turned into just another frenzied market, one among many. The median valuation-to-EBITDA multiple for all middle-market M&A transactions is up yet again this…

PE-backed IPOs: A hairy 2017 It’s no secret that PE sellers have preferred outright sales over IPOs recently. There are big advantages to staying private, and many of the best-performing assets on sale since 2016 have been bought outright by financial or corporate buyers. Why test the temperamental public markets when acquisitions can bring in…