Private Equity and M&A Forum Europe round-up

In this episode, funds editor Harriet Matthews and senior private equity reporter Rachel Lewis share insights from the Mergermarket Private Equity and M&A Forum Europe, exploring the outlook for private equity buyouts, exits and fundraising, as well as the outlook for specific markets, including the UK.

The Forum, which took place on 21 May at the Landmark Hotel in London, brought together private equity and M&A market participants for a day of panel discussions and networking.

In her keynote speech, JP Morgan’s global head of M&A Anu Aiyengar summarised the macro drivers for dealflow in 2024 across public and private markets, highlighting UK take-private activity in particular as a bright spot for dealmaking.

Elsewhere at the conference, panellists discussed topics including the prevalence of preferred equity as a liquidity solution for GPs, how GPs are approaching fundraising in a liquidity constrained environment, and LP preferences and concerns in the current market.

While much has been made of a potential uptick in dealmaking in 2H 2024, conference attendees were cautious when it came to making predictions. Positive indicators include strategic appetite for private equity-backed assets, with hope for interest rate cuts also expected to allow the cogs in the private equity machine to start whirring again.

Mergermarket data round-up – 1:28

Keynote speech takeaways – 3:51

UK market sentiment – 5:20

Fundraising outlook – 6:18

Preferred equity and bridging the valuation gap – 7:20

Returns and distributions – 10:50

Large-cap exit options – 12:15

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