The private equity (PE) sector across Europe has shown some resilience during the slowdown by generating strong value gains in the second quarter.
The private equity (PE) sector across Europe has shown some resilience during the slowdown by generating strong value gains in the second quarter. The figures, produced as part of the Zephyr report buck the overall slowdown in M&A activity and come in despite of debt-backed deal volumes hitting a new 12-month low.
The €28.7 billion (£22.8 billion) of PE-leveraged deals represented growth of almost 70 per cent from the previous quarter. Although a marked improvement the value still looks pale in comparison to the boom period last year, when Q2 PE deals generated €80.7 billion (£64.2 billion).
Seven PE-backed transactions in excess of €1 billion (£795.7 million) were announced last quarter; the largest of these was the £3.6 billion purchase by a Babcock & Brown led consortium of UK rolling stock company Angel Trains.
The report revealed that for the first time minority stake sales topped acquisitions as the most valuable deal type.
