US PE Fundraising Hit Record Highs in 2019 Despite Slight Dip in Dealmaking Activity
SEATTLE, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, today released its 4Q 2019 US Private Equity Breakdown, which found private equity (PE) dealmaking activity remained strong, falling just shy of 2018's all-time-record pace, with over 5,000 deals worth more than two-thirds of a trillion dollars. Dealmakers put forth a cautious tone, yet pursued deals with fervor. Investors were able to shake off criticism from mainstream figures and overcome trade war uncertainty to reach record-high fundraising numbers, with over $300 billion raised despite a reduction in fund count. Mega-funds, those above $5 billion, accounted for 53.8% of capital raised, the highest in over a decade. These highs come as the PE landscape continues to evolve: several hedge funds raised their first-ever PE funds, nontraditional investors like sovereign wealth funds and public pensions completed more direct deals and tech-focused funds reached nearly 20% of all PE funds.
"Record-high fundraising numbers in 2019 coupled with recessionary fears will create an interesting dichotomy in the coming year," said Wylie Fernyhough, senior PE analyst at PitchBook. "PE firms with recently-raised capital from a record fundraising year will likely feel pressured to buy. With that said, we are seeing some peak-like indicators, including the rumored and audacious $70 billion+ potential buyout of Walgreens, and hearing PE firms are cautiously preparing for a recession during their holding time."
Investment Activity
-- US PE investment activity totaled $678.0 billion across 5,133 deals by
year-end 2019 - slightly below 2018 figures ($730.3 billion across 5,345
deals), which remains a record year for PE dealmaking.
-- Despite ongoing recession fears, dealmakers continued to pay elevated
prices with median PE buyout EV/EBITDA multiples remaining relatively
unchanged in 2019, sinking from 11.5x in 2018 to 10.9x. These
conflicting actions likely stems from pressure to invest freshly raised
capital, the uptick in larger deal sizes, as well as growing interest in
technology companies, which tend to have higher multiples.
-- Multiples also stayed high due to increased competition from
nontraditional investors, such as sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and
public pensions, which are increasingly bypassing the traditional fund
structure and pursuing direct deals. In 2019, nontraditional investors
participated in just 12.3% of traditional PE mega-deals, down from 24%
in 2015.
-- The high multiple environment also drove many large-scale carveouts, a
strategy some large public companies are pursuing to divest noncore
assets and diminish their conglomerate discount. The $13.2 billion
Clarios carveout from Johnson Controls was the largest US-based buyout
in 2019 and Europe had several as well, including the carveout of data
provider Refinitiv from Thompson Reuters and subsequent sale to the
London Stock Exchange.
Exits
-- PE exit activity also fell year-over-year in 2019, finishing with one of
the lowest totals in the last six years. By year-end, there were 1,035
PE exits valued at $318.2 billion, representing declines of 16.5% and
28.0%, respectively.
-- PE-backed IPOs dropped from 46 in 2018 to 23 in 2019, mirroring a feeble
IPO market in general. Despite the anemic showing, PE-backed IPOs will
likely rise in 2020 as a swelling backlog of companies looks to go
public.
-- Partial sales and secondary transactions experienced a dramatic uptick
in 2019, with the top decile holding times extending past a decade and
LPs seeking liquidity options.
-- The proliferation of long-dated funds and growing competition from
nontraditional investors is expected to increase holding periods over
the long term and open up a whole new cohort of investable companies.
Fundraising
-- US PE fundraising hit an all-time high in 2019, surpassing $300 billion
for the first time ever. In total, the PE industry raised $301.3 billion
across 202 funds, representing a year-over-year 52.3% rise and a 5.6%
fall, respectively.
-- After a lull in 2018, mega-funds ($5 billion+) accounted for the highest
proportion of capital raised since 2007 - 53.8% of total capital raised
in 2019. Fifteen mega-funds closed a total of $162.2 billion, including
the record-breaking $26 billion Blackstone Capital Partners VIII fund.
-- Tech-focused PE funds - a growing trend in the industry - also had a
record-setting fundraising year. The trend is spurred by appealing
performance with tech-focused funds realizing an 18.9% 10-year horizon
IRR figure - nearly five percentage points higher than that for non-tech
PE buyouts and nearly double that for non-tech growth funds.
Additional coverage in this report includes:
-- Key takeaways
-- Overview
-- Deals by size and sector
-- INSIGHT2PROFIT Q&A
-- Spotlight: Tech-focused PE funds
-- Exits
-- Fundraising
Download the full report here.
About PitchBook
PitchBook is a financial data and software company that provides transparency into the capital markets to help professionals discover and execute opportunities with confidence and efficiency. PitchBook collects and analyzes detailed data on the entire venture capital, private equity and M&A landscape--including public and private companies, investors, funds, investments, exits and people. The company's data and analysis are available through the PitchBook Platform, industry news and in-depth reports. Founded in 2007, PitchBook has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and London and serves over 32,500 professionals around the world. In 2016, Morningstar acquired PitchBook, which now operates as an independent subsidiary.
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