Global private equity dealmaking saw a 7% increase in buyout capital in 2024, reaching $511.6bn compared to $478.3bn in 2023, although the fundraising environment remained difficult, according to the Private Equity Q4 2024: Preqin Quarterly Update report.
Europe stood out as the only region to record a quarter-on-quarter rise in deal value, with $31.8bn invested in Q4, a 7% increase from the previous quarter, accounting for 28% of the global total.
In Q4 2024, 182 funds raised $85.9bn, reflecting a 51% drop in the number of funds closed and a 64% decline in capital raised compared to Q4 2023.
For the full year, 952 funds closed, raising $584bn, marking a 26% and 27% year-over-year decline, respectively.
However, Victoria Chernykh, Associate Vice President at Preqin and lead author of the report, noted that final fundraising figures for 2024 may be revised upward as additional data is collected.
While smaller exits dominated for most of the year, Q4 saw larger deals make a comeback. The average deal size in Q4 reached $222m, surpassing both the 2024 average of $186m and the five-year average of $209m. However, total exits fell 19% from the previous quarter to 510 transactions. IPOs also saw an increase, rising to 211 in 2024, compared to 158 in 2023 and 154 in 2022.
After hitting a record $92.4bn in 2023, secondaries fundraising dropped 39% to $56.3bn in 2024. The number of secondaries funds also fell, declining 26% from 59 in 2023 to 37 in 2024. Analysts at Preqin expect it is unlikely that final Q4 2024 data will close the gap with 2023 levels.
In 2024, 33% of funds closed within 18 months, up from 25% in 2023. Only 3% of funds remained in the market for more than three years, compared to 17% in 2023 and 14% in 2022. This suggests that 2023 may have marked the bottom of the current fundraising cycle.
Looking ahead, Chernykh believes that North America is expected to remain the dominant private equity market, with a projected 68% share of global assets under management by 2029, while Europe’s share is expected to hold at around 20%.
“We will monitor the European and North American buyout landscape as 2025 unfolds,” Chernykh said. “But as outlined in our recent Future of Alternatives report, North America is set to remain the driving force in private equity for the foreseeable future.”
