GLOBAL PRIVATE EQUITY REPORT 2021

The buyout market outdid itself in 2021, roaring to new records in deal value and exits, while keeping the gas on fund-raising.

Buyout deal value roughly doubled in 2021, dwarfing the previous peaks and breaking through the $1 trillion ceiling for the first time.

The stairstep increase in unspent capital resulted in another record in 2021, increasing pressure on private equity firms to do more deals.

As global M&A value shot to its own record in 2021, private equity’s share of the total continued to rise.

Buyout multiples in the US and Europe remained in the stratosphere amid competition for assets and an industry shift toward growth and technology.