Global private equity dry powder has soared to an unprecedented $2.59 trillion in 2023 as a slow year in dealmaking closes with limited opportunities for firms to deploy capital raised in previous years.
The dry powder total as of Dec. 1 represented close to an 8% increase over the December 2022 total of $2.39 trillion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence (SPGMI) and Preqin data.
Key highlights from the analysis include:
- Weak deal activity is reflected SPGMI data for the year to Nov. 30, when global private equity deal value showed a 35.6% decline compared to the same period in 2022.
- Just 25 private equity firms held 21.8% of the dry powder total year to date. Nineteen of those firms were headquartered in the US.
- Apollo Global Management Inc. led all other firms, with $55.14 billion in uncommitted capital available to its private equity strategies, SPGMI and Preqin data shows.
- Record dry powder accumulation is rooted in the robust M&A market of the last several years, which set high valuation expectations for sellers that remained elevated even as macroeconomic conditions increasingly slowed deal activity from 2022 onward.
Please find the full analysis here: Private equity firms face pressure as dry powder hits record $2.59 trillion | S&P Global Market Intelligence (spglobal.com)
