Private equity funds raise $426bn in 2018

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Research provider Preqin indicated that 1,175 private equity (PE) funds raised a total of $426bn in capital commitments worldwide in 2018, compared to 1,670 PE funds that raised $565.8bn in 2017. Also, it said that 214 buyout funds raised $229bn in 2018, or 53.8% of total capital commitments, followed by 605 venture capital funds with $78.9bn (18.5%) in raised capital, 155 growth funds with $59.1bn (13.9%) in capital commitments, 30 secondaries funds with $20.7bn in raised capital (4.9%), 78 funds of funds with $18.4bn in capital commitments (4.3%), and seven turnaround funds with $2.3bn in raised capital.

On a regional level, 639 PE funds with a primary focus on North America secured $240.4bn in 2018, or 56.4% of total capital commitments, followed by 196 European-focused PE funds with $89.5bn (21%), and 250 Asian-focused funds with $80bn (18.8%). It said that the average fund size reached $363m last year, which constituted an increase of 7.1% from $339m in 2017 and represented the highest value since 2007. The survey indicated that there are 3,750 PE funds seeking to raise an aggregate of $977bn in capital at the start of 2019, compared to 2,296 PE funds that were seeking to raise an aggregate of $744bn in capital at the start of 2018.