These 3 charts show how the biggest private equity funds keep winning in a fundraising slowdown

2 weeks ago 11

Alex Nicoll

Thu, December 4, 2025 astatine 7:01 AM CST 3 min read

There whitethorn beryllium much backstage equity funds than McDonald's successful the US, but determination are signs of consolidation.
Nearly fractional of PE currency raised successful 2025 truthful acold has gone to the 10 largest funds, per a report.
It was besides the lowest twelvemonth connected grounds for caller funds closed, astatine conscionable 41, per Pitchbook.

In backstage equity, consolidation is present the sanction of the game.

After a burst of caller money launches — capable for 1 KKR enforcement to gag past period that the US present has much backstage equity funds than McDonald's — much backing than ever is flowing into the biggest names.

So acold this year, astir 46% of each backstage equity superior raised successful 2025 has been secured by the 10 largest funds, up from 34.5% successful 2024, according to PitchBook's backstage equity outlook report. PitchBook predicts that much than 40% volition spell to the largest funds successful 2026 arsenic well.

This fundraising consolidation happens portion fundraising is down substantially, with lone $259 cardinal raised truthful acold this twelvemonth compared to $372.6 cardinal past year. But adjacent arsenic the implicit magnitude raised by the apical funds has dropped 8% year-over-year to $118.3 billion, their wide stock of the pastry went up.

Here are 3 charts from PitchBook's study that amusement however the biggest funds successful backstage equity are apt to get adjacent bigger.

This illustration breaks down the percent of US backstage equity (and not credit) fundraising that went to the 10 largest funds. This year, the apical 10 largest funds see 2 Blackstone funds and 2 Thoma Bravo funds, a Bain Capital fund, arsenic good arsenic funds from lesser-known names similar Great Hill Partners.

After 5 years, with the 10 largest funds making up an mean of 35.8% of funds raised — and a 10-year mean of 39% — the fig jumped to 45.7% truthful acold this year.

10 biggest funds	Capital committed (billions)
Thoma Bravo Fund XVI	$24.3
Blackstone Capital Partners IX	$21
Veritas Capital Fund IX	$14.4
Bain Capital XIV	$14
Trident X Fund	$11.5
Thoma Bravo Discover Fund V	$8.1
Great Hill Equity Partners IX	$7
Providence Strategic Growth VI	$6
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners IV	$5.6
Linden Capital Partners	$5.2

With times choky for fundraising, plus allocators are choosing to spell to the biggest players with their remaining capital. Even the biggest players are having a harder clip fundraising compared to years past, but they're intelligibly doing amended than their competitors.

The consolidation communicative is adjacent much striking erstwhile you analyse the fundraising representation for the apical 3 largest funds. The 3 largest raised $60.4 cardinal truthful acold this year, accounting for 23.3% of the full magnitude raised, compared to $55.9 cardinal past year, which represented conscionable 15% of the full magnitude raised.

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