U.S. private equity funds raised a combined $127.6 billion in capital by 167 funds in the year to date through Sept. 30, compared to $191 billion raised by 131 funds in the first three quarters of 2019, PitchBook data show.
Some 343 private equity funds closed on an aggregate $316.4 billion in all of 2019.
The coronavirus pandemic had a big impact on U.S. private equity transactions through the end of the third quarter, with 3,444 deals worth a combined $453.2 billion, a 16.2% drop in the number of transactions and a 20.6% decline in total deal value compared to the first three quarters of 2019.
Separately, data from Preqin showed that private debt funds worldwide raised a total of $8.4 billion in 20 funds in the third quarter, down from $38 billion raised by 60 funds in the prior quarter and 24 funds that raised $22 billion as of Sept. 30, 2019.
At the same time, private debt fund managers were marketing funds with an aggregate fundraising target of a record of $295 billion.
