COVID-19 and the World of Private Equity

Mazars has surveyed private equity firms and investors to understand the challenges, level of optimism, and response strategies as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

The survey results confirm that these are challenging times for those in the world of private equity. Deal flow has been reduced, lockdown and confinement restrictions make it challenging to complete deals when we cannot meet physically and there are increased demands in terms of managing portfolio companies. However, despite these potentially significant challenges, we sense a level of optimism and resilience from the private equity community and our personal experience tells us that quality transactions will still be delivered.

Key findings

• 74% of respondents told us that they are ‘open for business’ and looking at new opportunities in the immediate term.
• Larger funds were generally more optimistic.
• 79% of respondents said that exit timing for their portfolio companies will be delayed.
• Despite the financial impact of the pandemic, 44% of funds are yet to see an increase in distressed opportunities.
• 82% of respondents believe there will be a U-shaped recovery.

To download the full report, click here.

About the survey

The majority of the survey participants are leveraged buyout funds and growth capital funds, making up a combined 74% of the total (154) respondents. Most responses came from investors across Europe, with some responses also from Asia and the Americas. The majority of funds are between €51m and €500m in size. The most common fund size respondent is €51m-€200m with the second most common €201m-€500m. These two fund sizes account for 68% of all respondents. The survey was carried out in April and May 2020.