Bain – Private Equity Activity & Impact on Fund Distributions and Future Fund Raising
June 28, 2024
Bain & Company’s 2024 Midyear Report highlights that private equity deal trends are starting to stabilize, showing a glimmer of hope for increased exit deal activity in 2025.
The depressed deal activity of the last two years has led to slower than expected fund distributions to investors and this has added further stress to private equity firms’ fundraising efforts.
While the backlog for private equity-backed company exits clears, funds are facing more nuanced negotiations about closing and new operational risks and burdens.
Today, at least one in five buyout funds is closing under its target (a ratio that is likely to go up before it comes down), and it’s not uncommon for funds to miss those objectives by over 20%.
View referenced article
Author(s)
Related Insights
October 5, 2026
Foley Viewpoints
Record Startup Shutdowns Reflect a Market That Is Moving Forward
This year, more venture-backed companies shut down than at any point on record, according to data published last week by Andreessen Horowitz. The largest share of those closures comes from companies founded between 2019 and 2021, a period when interest rates were near zero and capital was easy to raise.
October 2, 2026
Foley Viewpoints
Hard Things: Chris Yeh Says Physical AI Needs More R2-D2 and Less C-3PO
On September 28, 2026, together with our friends at Mavka Capital, Foley & Lardner Silicon Valley hosted the fourth installment of our “Hard Things” series for founders, funders and friends that are focused on building physical AI companies. The highlight of the evening was Mavka's Vitaly Golomb interview of Chris Yeh, co-author of “Blitzscaling,” about doing just that with companies building in the physical AI space.
October 2, 2026
Foley Viewpoints
An Early Look at Q3 2026 PE Activity
As we enter the final quarter of 2026, it’s time to look back at private equity (PE) activity last quarter and what that might tell us as we move into the final stretch of 2026. PitchBook has released their Q3 2026 Global PE First Look, taking an early look at global and US PE data last quarter. In a nutshell, some large-scale transactions led to a rebound in global PE exit activity in Q3, but that comes alongside a drop in fundraising activity.