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Becoming Attractions

Private-equity firms are hunting for deals once again, making it an opportune time to sell.

September 1, 2010

Will CFOs and their executive management teams forge sensible deals if buyout firms begin to swamp them with offers?

An outbreak of heated bidding isn't far-fetched. It's been well documented that private-equity firms hold heaps of capital ("dry powder") to invest — more than $500 billion in March, according to London-based research firm Preqin. They began to deploy it in the second quarter. Globally, the volume of private-equity-backed buyout deals tripled year-over-year, to $43.3 billion, according to Preqin. Almost half the deals were leveraged. Exits by PE firms numbered 140 and were up 57% in total dollar size, providing much-needed liquidity. Read more...

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