Private equity buyouts have never been this popular
The market might be sitting shy of all-time highs, but many publicly traded companies are still down bad. Rather than waiting for a rebound, they’re considering trading their tickers for a quick payout. Eager private equity firms are capitalizing on these opportunities, making quality companies going private “more popular than ever,” as noted by PE Hub. Just this week:
- Payment processor Nuvei agreed to a $6.3B all-cash acquisition by Advent International, offering a 56% premium per share.
- Entertainment giant Endeavor — which owns the majority of UFC, talent agency WWE, and OpenBet — is striking a deal to sell itself to Silver Lake for $13B.
Forward-looking: S&P Global reports that take-private deals hit a 16-year high last year, with 96 firms totaling $118B exiting Wall Street. According to David Klein from Kirkland & Ellis, “A large number of those [deals] were really distressed situations,” where the company’s value was not recognized. This trend may persist even as the market flirts with record highs, as investors still favor megacaps.
