Synthèse
About 13,500 U.S. companies sat in private equity portfolios as of June 30, up from roughly 13,300 at the end of 2025 (PitchBook, via WSJ). Almost 4,000 have been held six or more years. About 1,500 have been held nine or more. The private equity model is to ideally exit them in 4 years or less. Bain’s data says the same thing at industry scale. The average holding period at exit is now around seven years, up from five to six across 2010 to 2021. Almost 40% of all companies are held longer than
About 13,500 U. S. companies sat in private equity portfolios as of June 30, up from roughly 13,300 at the end of 2025 (PitchBook, via WSJ). Almost 4,000 have been held six or more years. About 1,500 have been held nine or more.
The private equity model is to ideally exit them in 4 years or less. Bain’s data says the same thing at industry scale. The average holding period at exit is now around seven years, up from five to six across 2010 to 2021. Almost 40% of all companies are held longer than five years, up from 29% in 2019. And the money isn’t coming back: distributions as a share of NAV have stayed below 15% for four straight years, which is an industry record.
PE firms used to target three-to-five-year holds. When the average drifts to seven and the backlog hits 33,000, the machine stops turning, and LPs stop writing checks. First-half 2026 fundraising came in at $159. 6B, on pace to roughly match 2025’s soft $308B, with fewer funds raising and capital piling into a handful of big managers. Bain reported buyout fundraising fell 16% in 2025 to $395B, and the number of buyout funds closed dropped 23%.
Source originale
wsj.com
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