U.S. Private Equity Deals Fall From Last Quarter but Continue Overall Rise

First-quarter private equity investment volume and fundraising fell from the fourth quarter but beat the first-quarter levels of the past five years, according to the Private Equity Growth Capital Council.

The council’s quarterly Trends Report also showed that exit volume declined, but still outperformed first quarter results since 2005.

“Despite the severe winter weather, private equity activity in the first quarter was a bright spot for the U.S. economy,” Bronwyn Bailey, PEGCC’s vice president of research, said in a statement.

“Private equity activity continues to experience year-over-year growth since the Great Recession, providing a source of capital to promising companies and investment returns to pension funds, charitable foundations and university endowments.”