Private equity firms face worst exiting year in a decade

Private equity firms are facing the worst year in a decade for selling portfolio companies, according to the latest figures from PitchBook. In the first nine months of the year, buyout firms generated $584bn from either selling companies outright or through taking them public. That figure is some $100bn less than what the industry raised during the same period in 2022 and almost two-thirds below the record $1.4tn generated in 2021, when borrowing costs were low and US equities still in a bull market. The figures underline the challenge confronting private equity firms as they try to monetise their investments and return money to investors. Singapore’s GIC warned in July that a golden age for the buyout industry had ended. The FT (£)