This year has been one of introspection, especially if you’re a private equity investor. Although the global economy appears headed for a recession, private equity investors continue to be active in raising money and investing in profitable deals. Here’s a review according to Pitchbook’s most recent third quarter accounting.

Which Firms are the Most Globally Active?

First up, which firms are the most active globally? The following has Pitchbook’s answer. In first place is Ares Management at 47. Behind Ares’ lead is Shore Capital Partners at 42 and Audax Group at 41. Rounding out the top five were TA Associates Management at 39 and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts at 38.

In sixth through tenth place were Bpifrance at 33, the Carlyle Group at 32, Genstar Capital at 30, HarbourVest Partners at 29, and Clearlake Capital Group at 25.

Source: Pitchbook

Which Firms are Most Active in Europe?

Switching to Europe, which firms have been most active so far in 2022? On top of the list is Bpifrance at a whopping 33 deals. The activity of Bpifrance was as much as the number of deals done by the second and third place firms of Ardian and EQT. Ardian has done 17 deals in 2022, while EQT has done 16. Rounding out the top five were four firms tied for fourth place, each at 15 deals: BGF, Silver Lake, Mubadala Investment Company, and LDC.

Moving to the remaining members of the top 10, the list included Waterland Private Equity Investments at 14, BNP Paribas Development at 14, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts at 13.

Source: Pitchbook

Which Firms are Most Active in the U.S.?

Shifting to the U.S., which firms have been the most active in 2022 so far? On top of the list is Shore Capital Partners at 42. In second and third place were Ares Management at 36 and Audax Group at 36. The remaining two members of the five most active included Genstar Capital at 25 and Clearlake Capital Group at 24.

Shifting to the sixth through tenth spots, in sixth place was TA Associates Management at 21, followed by the Carlyle Group at 19, New Mountain Capital at 19, Ares Capital Corporation at 18, Charlesbank Capital Partners at 18, and HarbourVest Partners at 18.

Source: Pitchbook

Summing Up

Overall, although the private equity world has slowed in 2022, business is still moving forward, with some firms continuing to invest at historically high levels.