Publicly quoted private equity firms and captive private equity funds owned by investment banks have written down the value of their portfolios by nearly $3bn (€3.42bn) in the past six months, according to analysis by Financial News.
The figure would be significantly higher if the independent partnerships that dominate the industry, but do not disclose information publicly, were included. One industry expert said that a figure for portfolio write-downs of around £10bn (€16bn) might still look conservative. The high level of portfolio write-downs comes at a time when, according to a report from the European Venture Capital Association, private equity is suffering the worst returns for a decade.