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 billion, is the closest the US market has flirted with a $300 billion quarter. It comes on the heels of a $279 billion second quarter and a $212 billion first quarter. All added up, we’re estimating almost $788 billion invested so far in 2021, which is already a record. With another quarter left to go, it’s conceivable that the American private equity market hits $1 trillion in transactions in 2021. It’s actually on pace to exceed that.

The only question is whether the industry has the stamina for it. Reaching $1 trillion, based on today’s data, would require a little over $212 billion in value in the fourth quarter. Three of the past four quarters have been well above the level, and the one “breather” quarter (Q1) was estimated at $211.5 billion. We don’t see much of a slowdown in Q4, with bankers and PE firms still working through a backlog of deals in their pipelines.

(Past performance is no guarantee of future results.)