The international advisory company says that sponsors have more than 30000 assets worth 1 trillion US Dollars in their portfolios and acquired 47% of them in 2020 or earlier.
PwC 1H25 Report says that global m&a deals value amounted to 1.497 billion US Dollars, up 15% from 1.301 billion in 1H24. However, the number of transaction dropped by 9% yoy.
In the EMEA area volumes are 6% lower yoy and transactions value is 7% down in light of a contraction of mega-deals in the UK. In 1Q25 and 2Q25, EV\Ebitda multiples fell again after having resumed its upward race in the last two quarters of 2024. At the end of 1Q25, the median EV/ebitda plummeted to 11.4X and at the end of 2Q25 it may be in the region of 10.8 X, bringing it to just above the median multiple of 2Q24 (10.6X) and well short of the peak of 12.4X at the end of 2024.
Financial sponsors are also facing a dangerous stalemate of divestures for their portfolio companies and struggle in raising money to give back to their investors and is starting new fundraising (see here BeBeez May 2025 Insight Views available for the subscribers to BeBeez News Premium and BeBeez Private Data). The PwC report says that private equity funds have more than 30000 assets worth 1 trillion US Dollars in their portfolios and acquired 47% of them in 2020 or earlier. The current geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility make difficult to carry on sales. On 18 June, Wednesday, press item reported Josh Smigel, PwC US private equity leader, commenting the outcome of PwC Pulse Survey and saying: “In a typical m&a cycle, a trillion dollars would have been on the market“. (Reuters).
The volume of exits, therefore, will have to increase at a much greater rate than in recent months, in which there has in any case been an improvement, but also thanks to creative solutions, such as the use of continuation funds, which allow some investors to liquidate their positions while those who want to can keep their money in the portfolio assets.
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