With higher interest rates and a more challenging financing environment, private equity firms are shifting their strategies and timing when it comes to exiting their investments.

“A lot of portfolio companies, especially those acquired during the high-valuation period of 2021 to 2022, would sell at lower multiples now compared with when they were acquired,” said Colin Singleton, a Grant Thornton Transaction Advisory Services Partner.

Through the third quarter, nearly 70% of deals in 2023 were worth less than $500 million, according to PitchBook data. That’s a greater portion of deals worth $500 million or less than in any of the previous 10 years. READ MORE