Private equity set a remarkable new standard for itself in 2021. Buyout deal value reached an all-time high of $1.1 trillion, doubling 2020’s total of $577 billion and shattering the previous record of $804 billion set in 2006 during the run-up to the global financial crisis, according to Bain & Company’s in its 13th annual Global Private Equity Report.
Deal size, not deal count, was behind this increase. The number of deals greater than $1 billion roughly doubled in 2021, with average deal size reaching $1.1 billion, increasing 57 percent to pierce through the $1 billion mark for the first time.
One reason for the sharp increase in deal value last year is the sheer volume of capital in the market. After 10 years of steady growth, dry powder
