Private Equity — Holding Steady, Readying a Growth Stage

After a lackluster first half, private equity broke out stronger in the third quarter, fueled largely by corporate America’s shedding of some large, non-core assets. Expect this trend to continue in the months ahead, with most deals in the middle market range of $50 million to $500 million. That is one of the insights to come out of a discussion between Philip Bass, global private equity markets leader at Ernst & Young LLP, and Stephen M. Sammut, a senior fellow and lecturer at Wharton, featured in this Knowledge at Wharton podcast. “Overall, the financing is there, the capital is there,” says Bass. “We do need a pick-up in the overall M&A market, and if we get that pick up, we’d expect private equity pick up as well.”