EUROPE - First quarter European private equity exceeds EUR 30bn

For the fourth successive quarter, the total value of European private equity transactions has exceeded EUR 30bn, totalling EUR 34.2bn for the first quarter of 2006. This represents a 53% increase in the total value of transactions reported for the same period last year. The rise in value was matched by a rise in volume with 297 deals taking place for Q1 2006 which is a 30% rise in volume compared with Q4 2005.