Firmex, a leading data room provider, reports increased fundraising activity within private equity, a trend supported by recently published 2010 figures showing increasing deal prices and volumes.
TORONTO, ON (PRWEB) MARCH 25, 2011 – The private equity backed buyout market reached levels of activity in 2010 that haven’t been seen since the global financial crisis hit markets in 2007. Aftershocks from the crisis had pushed many portfolio companies into a conservative period of aggressively cutting costs, conserving cash, and reducing debt.
“Private Equity firms across the globe are again using Firmex data rooms for fundraising efforts, and the recent success of our clients reflects the attractiveness of the Private Equity market to investors, and their confidence in the emerging signs of economic stability,” says Joel Lessem, Firmex CEO.
Birch Hill Equity Partners used Firmex to support their fundraising process by creating a secure online portal for document sharing to streamline communications with prospective investors. Birch Hill was able to raise $1B, exceeding their fundraising targets by 20%. “The size of this fund demonstrates that private equity will continue to be a vital source of financing.” said Birch Hill partner Steve Dent. Together with co-investors, Birch Hill expects to make investments ranging from $30 million to $500 million, across 12 to 14 companies. In turn, Birch Hill expects its investments will support those companies in making 60 or more acquisitions themselves.
Industry reports support the activity witnessed across Firmex clients, the 2011 Preqin Global Private Equity Report stated that the fourth quarter of 2010 had $64bn of new deals announced – the highest since Q2 2008 – and $72bn in exits – the highest quarter of all time. Another report from the NB Alternatives Private Equity Team shows that transactions completed in 2010 were less dependent on financial leverage and more focused on earnings growth, a trend expected to continue in 2011.
Joel Lessem continued: “Firms need to deploy capital and use Firmex for sharing documents with lead lenders to get their acquisitions financed. Many firms are coming to us for data room support in their fundraising efforts, and following their acquisitions, they often use Firmex for ongoing financial reporting purposes and divestments. Recent activity tells me that Private Equity is back, and signs are good that it’s here to stay.”
For more information about Firmex and fund raising solutions visit:
For more details on Birch Hill Equity partners, visit:
2011 Preqin Global Private Equity Report
2011 Outlook: Private Equity, Neuberger Berman, By NB Alternatives Private Equity Team
About Firmex
Firmex is a leading solution provider for sharing large volumes of highly confidential documents for commercial and financial transactions, litigation, and compliance. Thousands of the top corporations across the world rely on Firmex to exchange critical information through millions of documents every year. More information about Firmex can be found at Firmex.com.
