GLOBAL PRIVATE EQUITY REPORT 2024 Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter ScoreSM and Net Promoter SystemSM are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Copyright © 2024 Bain & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.About Bain & Company’s Private Equity businessBain & Company is the leading consulting partner to the private equity (PE) industry and its stakeholders. PE consulting at Bain has grown eightfold over the past 15 years and now represents about one-third of the firm’s global business. We maintain a global network of more than 2,000 experienced professionals serving PE clients. Our practice is more than triple the size of the next-largest consulting company serving PE firms.Bain’s work with PE firms spans fund types, including buyout, infrastructure, real estate, and debt. We also work with hedge funds, as well as many of the most prominent institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments, and family investment offices. We support our clients across a broad range of objectives:Deal generation. We work alongside investors to develop the right investment thesis and enhance deal flow by profiling industries, screening targets, and devising a plan to approach targets.Due diligence. We help support better deal decisions by performing integrated due diligence, assessing revenue growth and cost-reduction opportunities to determine a target’s full potential, and providing a post-acquisition agenda.Immediate post-acquisition. After an acquisition, we support the pursuit of rapid returns by developing strategic blueprints for acquired companies, leading workshops that align management with strategic priorities, and directing focused initiatives. Ongoing value addition. During the ownership phase, we help increase the value of portfolio companies by supporting revenue enhancement and cost-reduction initiatives and refreshing their value-creation plans.Exit. We help ensure that investors maximize returns by preparing for exit, identifying the optimal exit strategy, preparing the selling documents, and prequalifying buyers.Firm strategy and operations. We help PE firms develop distinctive ways to achieve continued excellence by devising differentiated strategies, maximizing investment capabilities, developing sector specialization and intelligence, enhancing fund-raising, improving organizational design and decision making, and enlisting top talent.Institutional investor strategy. We help institutional investors develop best-in-class investment programs across asset classes, including private equity, infrastructure, and real estate. Topics we address cover asset class allocation, portfolio construction and manager selection, governance and risk management, and organizational design and decision making. We also help institutional investors expand their participation in private equity, including through coinvestment and direct investing opportunities.Bain & Company, Inc. 131 Dartmouth Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116 USA Tel: +1 617 572 2000 www.bain.com 1Global Private Equity Report 2024ContentsThe Dark before the Dawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Private Equity Outlook 2024: The Liquidity Imperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Exits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Fund-raising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Move-In Ready: Renovating Your Growth Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Have Secondaries Reached a Tipping Point? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Building a Stronger Buy-and-Build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Harnessing Generative AI in Private Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45The Year Cash Became King Again in Private Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 2Global Private Equity Report 2024The Dark before the DawnDear Colleague:The year 2023 was one of portent. Deal value fell by 37%. Exit value slid even more, by 44%. Fund-raising dropped across private capital, as 38% fewer buyout funds closed. Interestingly, dollar commitments in buyouts surged as a number of high-performing funds came to market. But it was truly a year of haves and