ANALYSIS: There’s No M&A Boom Without Private Equity

In the current market, when we talk about M&A, we know that what we’re talking about is in large part private equity M&A. A staggering $1.2 trillion in mergers and acquisitions transactions announced and pending or completed so far in 2021 have involved a private equity party.

This year-to-date dollar amount, which includes total buyouts, majority and minority stake purchases, and venture capital investments, is already equal to 2020’s total annual PE deal volume, and it represents 40% of global M&A volume in 2021 thus far. If this market share holds through the close of the year, PE’s 2021 share ...