Private equity funds raised the lowest amount of capital since the first quarter of 2005, with 117 funds raising $82.3 billion in the third quarter, down from 212 funds raising $170.9 billion in the second quarter and the 213 funds that raised $118.7 billion a year earlier, according to new data from Private Equity Intelligence, a data research firm.
Private equity funds in the first quarter of 2005 raised $64.8 billion in 159 funds.
Still, there are currently 1,594 funds attempting to raise a total of $928 billion, up from January when there were 1,304 funds raising $705 billion.
U.S.-based funds raised most of the capital in the third quarter, with 61 funds closing on $57.9 billion. For the 31 funds based in Europe, $11.9 billion was raised. For the 25 funds based in Asia and the rest of the world, a total of $12.5 billion was raised.
Funds are taking an average of 14.2 months to close, up from 12 months in 2007 and 11.1 months in 2006, according to the London-based research group.