Private real estate and venture capital fundraising were strong in the first quarter of 2015, while private equity funds saw the lowest number of fund closings for a quarter in more than 10 years, a series of Preqin reports said.
Twenty-four real estate funds closed in the fourth quarter, according to Preqin, raising a total of $29 billion. Of that total, North America-focused funds led the way, with 15 funds closing on a total of $25.6 billion.
The high number was overall helped by the closing of the quarter’s largest-ever closed-end real estate fund, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII, an opportunistic fund managed by Blackstone Group that closed at $14.5 billion.
Also, the 24 funds that closed in the quarter was significantly less than the trend of the previous two years, which saw an average of 52 funds close each quarter in 2014 and an average of 62 each quarter in 2013.
In the venture capital realm, the number of venture capital financings fell to 1,701 in the first quarter from 1,817 the previous quarter, but the aggregate value of deals increased 4% to $27.4 billion. The total amount also represented an increase of 51.4% over the first quarter of 2013, which saw $18.1 billion.
Meanwhile, also in the first quarter, 151 private equity funds closed, which Preqin said is the lowest number of closings for a quarter since the third quarter of 2003, although the number could increase between 10% and 20% as more information becomes available. An average of 288 funds closed each quarter in 2014.
Of those 151 funds, 50% exceeded their fundraising targets, while 24% met their targets.
The funds raised a total of $94 billion, down from $162 billion the previous quarter and $112 billion during the first quarter of 2014.
The reports are available on Preqin’s website.
