DPI dominates the 2024 agenda

Mergermarket's funds editor Harriet Matthews and senior private
equity reporter Rachel Lewis discuss what the key themes that
emerged from January’s IPEM conference in Cannes mean for the
2024 outlook for the European private equity industry, touching
on topics including debt, exits, fundraising, and the secondaries
market.


With interest rates expected to stabilise this year, private
equity is adjusting to paying more for leveraged buyout financing
and is approaching 2024 with a cautious optimism.


However, the industry is not out of the woods yet when it comes
to the eternal question of returning capital to LPs via DPI
(distribution to paid-in capital) in a tough exits environment.
Creative routes continue to be on the agenda, be it recaps,
minority stake sales or GP-led secondaries.


Fundraising challenges also remain, with LP capital still scarce
– but with deployment and the overall pace of fundraising
expected to continue to return to a more even keel, the outlook
for 2024, as well a the longer term outlook for pools of capital
available to private equity funds, could be a little brighter.


0:31 – Introduction


1:13 – The macro picture


3:04 – A bad time to make exits?


5:02 – Debt dynamics and recaps


5:59 – Secondaries market growth


8:40 – Private equity’s creativity


9:45 – Fundraising challenges


12:29 – Adjusting returns expectations


14:09 – The pace of deployment


If you would like to hear more podcasts produced by ION
Analytics, you can access the ION Analytics channel on Apple
Podcasts.


Theme music: 2012 Kick Up The Fire