The single best metric of a private equity firm’s appetite for a particular industry is the constitution of their portfolio – investments they have already made. For this, we produce a monthly PE Industry Trends report, based on completed private equity deals.

We also summarized the Top 10 Industries for PE Platform Investments in 2021, based on deals closed.

While Manufacturing & Distribution was the most sought after industry among PE firms (by stated industry of interest) in 2021, Software deals actually topped the list of completed deals.

The trending private equity investment sectors for March 2022 were Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Manufacturing, and Software.

Sample transactions for each category are highlighted below.

We used our database of private equity portfolio company transactions to determine the most active law firms advising private equity deals in 2021 (based on number of deals, platform acquisitions only).

We reviewed our private equity database for 2021 platform acquisitions to determine the most active investment banking firms closing deals with private equity acquirers. Here are the top 10 I-banks, ranked by number of deals closed as PE platform acquisitions.

The trending private equity investment sectors for February 2022 were Wealth Management, Information Technology Services, Consulting, and Cloud-Based Software.

Sample transactions for each category are highlighted below.

Traditionally, Construction has not been a preferred industry of interest for private equity firms, precisely because it is often capital intensive and cyclical.

However, the Private Equity Info Research Database currently tracks 393 unique portfolio companies in the Construction space, collectively owned by 321 unique private equity firms. Clearly, there is now PE appetite in the construction space.

Top PE Firms Investing in the Construction Industry

The following PE firms hold at least 3 current platform investments in construction companies.

The Private Equity Info Research Database currently tracks 521 unique portfolio companies in the Apparel space, collectively owned by 386 unique private equity firms.

The graph below shows the PE platform investment trend in Apparel companies over the past 6 years.

The trending private equity investment sectors for January 2022 were Software – Cloud Based, Healthcare – Therapy, and Manufacturing.

Sample transactions for each category are highlighted below.

The Private Equity Info Research Database shows 267 PE-backed portfolio companies in the Staffing space. These companies are collectively held by 195 private equity firms.

The Staffing market includes recruitment, workforce solutions, talent management, staffing services, staffing software, and more.

The Private Equity Info Research Database currently tracks 97 portfolio companies in the Activewear space, collectively held by 86 unique PE firms.

Private Equity has shown a substantial increased interest in Activewear companies in recent years, driven by greater health awareness and further fueled by Covid.