Q1 Barometer: Slow start across Europe despite French uptick

unquote" and SL Capital
16 May 2016

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The European buyout segment witnessed a slow Q1 volume-wise, with the lowest number of deals since Q1 2014, according to the latest unquoteт Private Equity Barometer, published in association with SL Capital Partners.

The number of European buyouts recorded in the barometer declined for the third consecutive period to 127 transactions. This slow but steady slide mirrors the trend across the market. Indeed, the first quarter total remains 19.1% below the 10-quarter peak of 157 buyouts in Q4 2014. As a result, the 544 buyouts completed over the year to Q1 2016 as a whole marks a decline of 8.3% over the previous 12 months.

Uncertainty over a possible Brexit contributed to the lacklustre dealflow in the UK, but the rest of Europe did not fare much better. That said, a lone bright spot came courtesy of France: the country completed 39 buyouts worth €5bn and became the largest market by volume and value after edging out the UK and the DACH region in volume and value terms respectively. Besides France, no region registered growth in volume terms in Q1. The DACH region remained stable at 16 transactions and improved marginally in value terms (+2.6%).

Although family and private vendors continued to dominate deal sources, as they traditionally do, they witnessed a drop in dealflow from 63 to 55 buyouts (-12.7%) in Q1. Secondary buyouts also saw a slowdown, with 51 transactions (-7.3%) representing 40.2% of deal activity in the period.

Read the full report, including detailed commentary and statistics for the growth capital and venture capital markets, as well as regional breakdowns.