Happy Holidays from the Unquote team

Dear readers,

We have now come to the end of 2021 – a year that not only saw private equity survive the continued impact of the pandemic, but arguably thrive like never before.

We previously mused as to whether the European PE market could break the EUR 400bn activity mark this year – early signs are that we might fall a little short, with the current tally standing at around EUR 366bn, but a flurry of large deals inked before the Christmas break could very well take us past that. In any case, it is already evident that 2021 deal activity will break all previous records. Whether or not this can (or even should) be sustained into 2022 is another matter, but the drivers – bullish sponsors, equally hungry lenders and mountains of fresh dry powder – are certainly hinting at more M&A frenzy in the new year.

To round off this madcap year, and before the team returns on Tuesday 4 January to resume covering the latest European private equity news, here is a selection of our most impactful recent content.

The whole Unquote team joins me in thanking you for your continued support and wishing you an excellent festive season as well as continued success in 2022!

Greg Gille
Editor, Unquote