Top 10 Private Equity Firms

Private Equity Firms

Private Equity (PE) is an asset class and investing style that consists of buying an ownership interest in operating companies that are private – not publicly-traded.  Common strategies within P.E. include leveraged buyouts (LBO), venture capital, growth capital, distressed investments, and mezzanine capital. Typically, a PE firm looks for firms that are undervalued, so that acquiring the company will create value for the PE firm. Alternatively, a PE firm will look for a target firm that will synergize with its current operations to create value.  In this article, you’ll find a list of the top 10 private equity firms in the world.

PE firms raise large amounts of capital (equity and debt) to buy companies, hold them for a period of time, and typically sell them as an “exit strategy”. The total amount of capital raised is how we have ranked the top ten private equity firms in the world.

What are the Top 10 Private Equity Firms in the World?

(Top 10 P.E. firms sorted by total capital raised – from Wikipedia)

1. The Carlyle Group – Washington D.C.
2. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) – New York City
3. The Blackstone Group – New York City
4. Apollo Global Management – New York City
5. TPG – Fort Worth
6. CVC Capital Partners – Luxembourg
7. General Atlantic – New York City
8. Ares Management – Los Angeles
9. Clayton Dubilier & Rice – New York City
10. Advent International – Boston

How to Get Hired by a PE Firm

People typically enter private equity from investment banking, as bankers work closely with PE firms on most of their deals, so it’s simply a very logical way to enter the industry.

For more information on how to break into private equity check out our Interactive Career Map, as well as our financial modeling and valuation courses that are required skill-sets for the job.

Skills in Private Equity

For Analysts and Associates in private equity, the required skill set is a lot like that for investment banking – lots and lots of financial modeling and presentation making.  The work can be categorized into two kinds of tasks: (1) working on transactions and (2) managing portfolio companies.

When working on transactions, analysts and associates are responsible for building a financial model for valuation purposes, and for preparing transaction documents such as a Letter of Intent (LOI) or a Definitive Purchase Agreement.

When managing portfolio companies, the work involves financial analysis, measuring performance, financial planning, and working closely with the company’s CFO to optimize the operational efficiency of the business.

Source: CFI financial modeling templates.

Additional Resources

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to the Top 10 Private Equity Firms. To keep learning and advancing your career, we recommend checking out these additional resources:

• Private equity career path
• LBO Model
• DCF Model
• Private company valuation methods