Private Equity: Global private equity on the rise

Private Equity: Global private equity on the rise

Private Equity: Private equity-backed M&A has risen by 51 per cent over the same period last year, with transactions totalling $128.2 billion (£80.4 billion).

The findings from Thomson Reuters also found that buyouts in the healthcare sector reached $12.6 billion, a 58 per cent increase from 2010 levels.

David Silver, co-head of European investment banking at Baird, says that trade buyers that weathered the recession well and emerged with strong balance sheets are now being proactive in approaching high priority targets, leading to healthy competition with private equity buyers.

Silver adds: ‘Private equity firms are now keen to show returns to aid fundraising through exits for businesses that have come out of the recession in good shape.

‘Private equity is now focused on aggressively deploying capital in the absence of trade buyers in certain processes.’

For the year so far in 2011 the UK contributed $10.7 billion of private equity M&A, a fall of 1 per cent, with the bulk of the 51 per cent rise in global figures attributable to the United States which posted an increase of 25 per cent to $53.3 billion.

UK M&A bucked the trend of European M&A improvement by falling 6 per cent, with other nations including Germany, Italy and France posting healthy increases. Read More