Private equity market saw a bumpy recovery in 2022 amid rising inflation and fears of a recession. However, analysts see signs of a recovery in the coming years. Articles analyzing the challenges faced by private equity firms due to macroeconomic factors and the expectations of a recovery dominated the most read list in the private equity space during the year.
Topping the list is the article forecasting assets under management in the global alternatives industry to nearly double over the next five years. Fundraising getting harder for the private equity firms was also among the topics that caught the most attention during 2022.
Most read private equity articles
1. Global alternatives AUM forecast to double by 2026, topping $23 trillion
AUM in the global alternatives industry is expected to nearly double over the next five years, swelling to $23.21 trillion by 2026 from an estimated $13.32 trillion at the end of 2021, growth a bullish new report from Preqin predicted will be fueled in large part by private equity.
2. KKR scales AUM in 2021, targets private wealth
KKR & Co. Inc. reported AUM growth of 48% in 2021, and if the $4.7 billion acquisition in February of insurance provider Global Atlantic Financial Group Ltd. is included, total AUM was up 87% to $471 billion.
3. Private equity's blockchain adoption may clear path to retail investors
Private equity's adoption of blockchain technology is accelerating as the asset class increasingly sees it as a pathway to access the trillions of dollars in investable capital held by the wealthy around the globe.
4. European PE buy-and-build deals surge as valuations heat up
Buy-and-build deal volume in Europe will remain at the heightened level seen in 2021 if macro conditions continue as they are, as private equity firms chase returns in a competitive market, industry sources told S&P Global Market Intelligence.
5. Private equity broke multiple records as it blazed through 2021
Private equity firms' stores of undeployed capital rose to an all-time high in 2021, tumbling industry records as cheap debt, strong corporate valuations and a stronger-than-expected recovery from the first waves of the pandemic drove dealmaking into new territory.
6. Private equity's share of terminated M&A deals climbs
Terminated M&A deals with private equity or venture capital involvement globally have been on the rise since the second half of 2021, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows.
7. Private equity fundraising 'is getting harder'; M&A activity falls off 2021 pace
Institutional investors, including public pension funds, are being squeezed as private equity funds proliferate and fund managers return to market with new funds at an accelerating pace.
8. PE eyes discounts on software-as-a-service companies; dealmaking dives in June
Softening valuations for software-as-a-service businesses are drawing bargain-hunting private equity firms to that corner of the larger technology market.
9. $1.78 trillion in private equity dry powder remains near record high
The global private equity industry collectively holds $1.78 trillion in dry powder, or capital available for investment, an increase of 35% since September 2021 and near the all-time high of $1.81 trillion recorded in late January, according to Preqin estimates, which exclude fund of funds, secondaries, hybrid and hybrid fund of funds.
10. Private equity set for slower asset growth, fundraising – Preqin
Private equity is on track for sluggish growth over the next five years as inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty take their toll on investments and investors shift capital to lower-risk asset classes, a new report from Preqin Inc. predicted.
