Buoyant market: Why private equity deals are surging after lockdown

After a brief lull when Covid-19 first hit, the deals pipeline is ‘on fire’ again thanks to a flurry of activity and a raft of investments into sectors considered to be Covid-proof

Laura Dillon, head of the Irish arm of Waterland Private Equity: ‘valuations still very high’. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Speak to anyone working in corporate finance right now and they are likely to tell you a similar story – the pipeline of business deals, mergers and acquisitions has never been so busy.

“There’s an enormous amount of capital looking to go to work right now,” Joe Gill, director of corporate broking at Goodbody, said.

“Having money parked up at a time of negative interest rates has increased the pressure to deploy capital. We’re in ...