Private equity fund managers are more optimistic about deal activity than they were at this time last year, according to survey results being released later today by BDO USA.
A majority of respondents (regardless of fund size) said they expect to close two or three deals over the next 12 months, compared to 2011 stats in which 47% said they didn’t expect to close a single transaction.
Some other takeaways:
- 67% of respondents saw overall portfolio values increase in 2011, but 22% said that more than 1/5 of their portfolio companies were under-performing.
- Top expected geographies for 2012 deals are North, South and Central America (last year’s winner was Asia).
- Manufacturing (28%) and healthcare/biotech (21%) get the nod for greatest sector opportunities.
- 18% of respondents didn’t use leverage on their last deal, but only 9% expect not to use leverage on their next deal.
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