In last year’s Looking Ahead Guide, we had predicted the 2024 deal landscape would improve over 2023 year-end results in terms of number of closed buyout transactions, transaction values, and exits. This seems to be the case, as we see initial signs of an improving landscape after a stronger Q2. According to EY’s Private Equity Pulse, Q2 2024 was the strongest quarter in two years, with 122 announced transactions at a valuation of $196 billion total enterprise value. But the US PE market is still a good distance from the 2021 heights. According to Bain & Company’s Private Equity Midyear Report 2024, “activity relative to the mountain of dry powder available remains stunted by historical standards. For comparison, 2024 deal value is on track to roughly match 2018’s total, yet there is more than 1.5 times as much buyout dry powder today as there was back then."
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