How Will Competition Among Fund Managers Affect Future Industry Performance Disparity? Post-recession private equity funds experienced a tightening of IRR spreads across several different vintages, as fund managers of all tiers weathered the economic downturn. 2010 and more recent vintages, however, have seen a widening of the spread…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log

PE’s Other Overhang For several years now, the increase in the inventory of companies backed by private equity in North America and Europe has essentially plateaued. In stark contrast to the steady ramp-up in inventory during the buyout boom era, this trend can be ascribed to a few key drivers, including the healthy exit… Subscribe

How much longer will the M&A boom sustain PE exits? The M&A boom has been very kind to private equity sellers. Last year saw PE sellers close over 1,200 sales to strategic buyers, with total value just eclipsing $360 billion. That leaves the past three years at a total of $963 billion in total value…

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… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log

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… Subscribe

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,… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member?

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…