European Private Equity Market

Incisive Media and UK private equity firm Candover just released their Q1 Private Equity Barometer.  A few highlights from their key findings:

• Deal activity reached the highest quarterly value since 2001 with 404 deals recorded in Q1.
• There were 12 deals over E1bn, this is one less that Q4 2006.  This suggests mega-deals will continue to dominate the statistics on '07.
• So far 2007 has been a good year for venture capital, with a huge increase in activity in Q1

This is a report worth looking at as it covers all forms of private equity investment - buyouts, growth capital and early-stage investing.