Preqin: COVID-19 slows private equity fundraising in Q2

Private equity fundraising activity slowed in the second quarter as COVID-19 began to fully take hold with sheltering in place and regional shutdowns, a Preqin report said.

According to the report, private equity funds raised $116 billion raised in the second quarter, the lowest amount raised since the first quarter of 2018 (when $110 billion was raised). During the quarter ended June 30, 225 funds closed, the lowest level in the years analyzed by Preqin.

There are currently 3,754 funds targeting a combined $884 billion in the market right now.

In a separate report, Preqin reported that a total of $34 billion was raised during the second quarter from 49 private debt funds closed, compared with $22 billion in capital raised in the first quarter. There are now a record 486 private debt funds currently seeking $239 billion in aggregate capital.

Preqin also noted that fundraising for unlisted natural resources funds hit a record low of $8.5 billion raised. This is following the sector's record high of $46 billion raised in the first quarter. Just 15 funds closed during the quarter, the lowest since Preqin began tracking natural resources funds in the first quarter of 2015.

And finally, Preqin reported that total capital secured by infrastructure funds was $12 billion in the second quarter, a 70% drop from the previous quarter.