A total of 116 private equity funds' final closes worldwide raised $50.6 billion in the first quarter, according to private equity fundraising data released Monday by Preqin, a London-based alternative investment research firm.
Some 123 funds held interim closes, raising a total of $33.7 billion. There are 1,847 private funds attempting to raise a total of $784 billion, up from 1,676 funds that were raising $680 billion this time last year.
BC Partners raised the largest fund during the quarter, the €6.5 billion ($8.66 billion) BC European Capital IX. The second largest was a Blackstone Group mezzanine fund, the $4.1 billion GSO Capital Opportunities Fund II.
Preqin's listing of the top 10 private equity funds to have closed during the quarter included an infrastructure fund, Meridiam Infrastructure's €950 million Meridiam Infrastructure Europe II
