Cause to cancel Christmas?

In contrast to the same time last year, the industry is busy working on deals behind closed doors, with several houses confident of completing at least one transaction before the Christmas break. What is more, deal pipelines are said to be healthy, so heightened deal activity looks set to carry over into the first quarter of 2011.

Of course, deal pipelines are only an indication of potential activity and it remains to be seen how continuing market jitters will affect completions - unfortunately Ireland is not believed to be the last EU economy in need of a bailout. That said, the recorded transaction volume over the past two quarters conveys that the industry has regained a certain degree of confidence.

There was further good news for those waiting to hit the fundraising trail next year, with BC Partners said to be on course to achieve up to €3bn at first close on its latest €6bn European fund in early 2011 - a feat that would have been almost unthinkable a year ago. True, some LPs are still waiting to see more distributions come their way before allocating new capital, but the increasingly lively exit market is encouraging.

It may not be the bustling year-end activity seen before the crisis, but the industry may well be on its way to turn the corner.

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