European buyouts slump by 33%

The buyout segment has long been the flagship mode of investment for private equity and was the catalyst for the European market's record-breaking statistics over the last three-year boom. It is also the part of the market that has been hardest hit by the ongoing problems caused by the turbulence in the credit markets.

If we look at pan-European buyouts we see that the number of private equity backed acquisitions has slumped to 137, the lowest quarterly total since 2004 and a 33% drop from Q4 2007. The value figure fell for a third time to EUR19bn, a 32% decline in comparison with the previous three months and reminiscent of similar figures last seen during the years that followed the bursting of the technology bubble in the early part of the decade.

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