The record-breaking deal to take HCA private in a management-led leveraged buyout underscores how heated the private equity market has become.
The total volume of deals so far this year works out to $372.6 billion, including HCA, according to Reuters, citing data from Dealogic. The sum already exceeds last year’s total and is higher than any other full year on record, according to the report.
Mot surprising, volume of global mergers and acquisitions has swelled to $2.18 trillion so far this year, already topping the $2.13 trillion recorded during the same period in 2000 at the height of the Internet boom, according to Dealogic data, reported Reuters.
Since the beginning of the year, private equity firms have experienced a boom in fund raising in general, which has enabled them to team up with rivals to do huge deals.
Reuters points out that in just the past several weeks, three global private equity firms—Permira, Cinven, and Blackstone Group—have raised nearly $37 billion altogether in new funds. Blackstone’s $15.6 billion fund is the largest ever raised by a buyout firm.
Meanwhile, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is currently passing around the hat while Goldman Sachs is looking to create another large fund, according to the wire service.