In this issue of the Private Equity Digest, we take a look at private equity trends in 2018 and possible developments for 2019.
Our review of PE fundraising, exit and M&A activity for year-end 2018 shows the following trends:
- U.S. PE fundraising declined in December as compared to November. The number of funds closed nearly halved from November (13) to December (7), but the total dollar value declined even further, from $8.68 billion in November to $3.59 billion in December.
- The total number of U.S. sponsor-backed exits decreased (from 74 in November to 63 in December), with the decline attributable to fewer corporate sales. By contrast, exits as measured by dollar volume, climbed from $10.3 billion in November to $14.0 billion in December, which was driven by larger secondary buyouts.
- Sponsor-related M&A activity slid both in the U.S. and globally. In the U.S., dollar volume and deal count dropped from November ($62.4 billion and 145) to December ($15.8 billion and 83). Global sponsor-related M&A activity in December, as measured by dollar volume, experienced its lowest annual total at $42.9 billion in contrast to $90.7 billion in November. By deal count, transactions were also down from 310 in November to 235 in December.
