Global buyout deals dipped by value and number at the end of 2012 with the number of buyout deals down 1% to 2,866 and combined value down 4% to $254.6 billion from a year earlier, according to Preqin data released Friday.
At the same time, there were 1,192 exits worldwide from private equity investments in 2012 worth $275.2 billion, down from 1,145 exits valued at $310.1 billion in 2011, according to Preqin. There were 304 private equity-backed exits in the fourth quarter of 2012 worth a combined $72.2 billion, up 11% in number and 2% in value over exits in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, according to a separate Preqin report also released Friday, total value of global venture capital financings were down 22% to $39.1 billion in 2012. The combined value of global venture capital deals dropped 5% to $8.9 billion in the fourth quarter, with North American deals accounting for 69% of the total.
In the U.S., the number venture capital exits, both mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings, were down in 2012 from the year before, according to a report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association.
Venture capital-backed IPOs raised $21.5 billion from 49 listings in 2012, and were driven by the Facebook offering, the report noted. The combined value of venture capital-backed IPOs in 2012 rose 100% and were up 1% by number from the year before.
As of Dec,. 31, there were 435 venture capital-backed mergers and acquisitions worth a combined $21.5 billion, the Thomson Reuters and NVCA report revealed. This was down 12% each in value and number from 2011.
