Global private equity fundraising down 46% in 3Q

A further 109 funds held interim closes, securing commitments totaling $42.7 billion.

As of October, 1,728 funds are in the market, seeking to raise $706 billion, up from $680 billion sought by 1,676 funds in June. This comes despite global economic uncertainty and volatile capital markets, although current levels are well down on the collective $888 billion fundraising target for 1,624 vehicles as of January 2009.

During the third quarter, North American funds attracted the most capital, with 37 funds raising $22.5 billion. In Europe, 28 funds raised $22.5 billion while the rest of the world - dominated by Asia - saw $11 billion committed to 32 vehicles.

The largest buyout fund was Berkshire Fund VIII, which closed at $4.5 billion, while Lone Star Fund VII led the way among real estate funds, attracting $4.63 billion. Five distressed private equity funds also closed in the third quarter, securing commitments of $6.5 billion - although $4.4 billion of this went to Centerbridge Capital Partners II alone.

The largest interim closes were BC European Cap IX, which raised EUR5.5 billion ($7.2 billion) toward its target of EUR6.5 billion, and EQT VI, which secured commitments of EUR3.5 billion.

Vehicles closing in the third quarter took an average of 17 months to fundraise, compared to 11.4 months in 2007 and 20.4 months in 2010.

"While recent market uncertainty and declines in deal flow have had an impact on the investment plans of institutional investors towards private equity in the immediate term, few have changed their plans for investing in the asset class over the next 12-18 months. Two thirds of investors participating in each of two studies of investors conducted in June-July and in August-September intend to make new commitments to private equity funds in the following 12 months," said Helen Kenyon, senior manager and Preqin spokesperson, in a statement.

"This suggests that although investors are currently approaching new private equity investments with extreme caution, most intend to remain active in the coming months and over the longer term."

 

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• Fundraising
• BC Partners
• Berkshire Partners
• EQT Partners
• Centerbridge Capital Partners