Global private equity and venture capital deal value grew in the first quarter, although the volume of transactions declined from the same period in 2023.
Deal value climbed 5.1% to $130.61 billion for the first three months of 2024 from $124.30 billion for the same period in 2023. The number of deals slid 12.8% year over year to 2,880 as of quarter-end, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
The increase in deal value during the first quarter underscores the upbeat sentiment among private equity firms in 2024. According to Market Intelligence's 2024 Private Equity and Venture Capital Outlook, 60% of the general partners surveyed expressed optimism about deal activity in 2024, a jump from 34% in the previous year's survey.
Looking at the monthly data, total transaction value dipped 52.2% to $32.10 billion in March compared to $67.13 billion a year earlier.
On an annual basis, the number of March deals fell 22.8% to 887 from 1,149 transactions.
Europe posted the highest deal value in March, at $13.77 billion, up more than 72% from the same period in March 2023.
Private equity entries in the US and Canada plunged 74.9% year over year to $10.73 billion for the month, while investments in Asia-Pacific totaled $5.91 billion, down 63.1% year over year.
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– Read about private equity entries in February.
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The technology, media and telecom sector had the most deal activity, with 311 private equity-backed transactions.
Within the sector, application software recorded the highest number of transactions, at 145, followed by interactive media and services as well as systems software, with 27 deals each.
Biggest deals
For the biggest transaction in March, Cinven Ltd. agreed to buy a majority stake in Alter Domus Participations SARL in a transaction that values the fund administrator at €4.9 billion.
For the month's biggest round of funding, fitness club operator Equinox Holdings Inc. secured about $1.8 billion in fresh capital from investors led by Sixth Street Partners LLC and Silver Lake Technology Management LLC.