Private equity groups spent more on deals this year than at any time since the financial crisis, with dealmaking growing for a third consecutive year as the industry showed little sign of slowing down.
The value of buyout deals worldwide hit $478bn in 2019, up from $460bn a year earlier and the highest amount since 2007, according to data from Refinitiv.
Fuelled by cheap debt and large inflows of cash from pension funds and other investors seeking high returns in a low interest-rate environment, buyout groups are hungry for deals and willing to take on larger and more complex target companies.
“It has felt very busy,” said David Higgins, a private equity lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis in London. “Multiples have been high and there’s been a lot of competition for good assets. People feel the pressure to deploy all the equity they’ve raised.”
Mega-deals this year include Blackstone’s agreement in June to buy the US warehouses portfolio of Singapore-based GLP for $18.7bn in the largest private real estate deal in history.