2009: a year to forget

Everybody knew 2009 would be slow, but just how slow was a shock to us all. Dealflow saw a significant drop - in Southern Europe alone, activity recorded EUR3.8bn invested across 82 deals, a 75% and 60% drop respectively from 2008. The limited liquidity and slow price alignment also meant the number of exits recorded in the region was halved from 2008 figures, while the value decreased to EUR882.5m from more than EUR3bn in 2008.

On the fundraising front, investors also encountered many challenges. The bulk of megafund final closes in 2009 were those based in the US; most notably, Apollo's $14.8bn Fund VII. In Europe, Charthouse closed its EUR4bn fund, matching its previous fund. Albeit in the minor leagues, Italian cleantech dedicated investor Ambienta reached a EUR218m closing of its maiden fund.

2009 was never going to be an easy year, but the depths that the market plunged to will accentuate every success of 2010. Indeed, investors are positive about the improved quality of pipelines, yet it remains to be seen whether banks will have more capital to deploy.

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