Private Markets

Private-equity investments by individual investors are set to drive significant growth in the sector, with assets under management expected to reach nearly $12 trillion by 2029, according to a report by Preqin. While institutional investors, such as banks and pension funds, have long dominated private equity, their contributions are now leveling off...

Grammarly has announced the appointment of Navam Welihinda as Chief Financial Officer. Welihinda, with a solid track record in corporate finance, joins from HashiCorp, where he led the company through its successful IPO in December 2021. His background includes significant roles at Insight Venture Partners, American Capital Strategies, and Sierra Ventures, where he honed his skills in scaling technology companies...

Private equity (PE) firms are beginning to embrace artificial intelligence to enhance portfolio valuations, a shift expected to increase transparency and improve regulatory compliance. Although fewer than 10% of private funds had integrated AI by mid-2023, Deloitte predicts that up to 25% of PE firms could implement AI for portfolio valuations over the next five to seven years...

Bridging private equity (PE) strategies with operational value creation has become essential as the macroeconomic landscape shifts. Over the past four decades, PE buyout managers relied on declining interest rates, financial leverage, and favorable debt structures to generate high returns. However, since 2020, rising interest rates and tighter liquidity in debt markets have reduced fund performance, with buyout entry multiples declining from 11.9 to 11.0 times EBITDA through 2023...

The life insurance sector's increasing reliance on private equity has prompted researchers at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to express apprehension regarding potential risks that could be further exacerbated by the escalating interest rates. A growing number of private equity firms have acquired life insurers in order to access substantial capital pools that are subsequently invested in alternative assets...

According to a recent report by Bain and Company, private market assets under management (AUM) are expected to expand at a rate that is more than double that of public assets, with an estimated value of $60 to $65 trillion by 2032. This accelerated expansion, which is being driven by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% to 10%, will constitute 30% of all global AUM...

According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the volume and value of private equity-backed megadeals increased in 2024, with 13 deals valued at $5 billion or more recorded by July 29. This is in stark contrast to the eight such transactions that were documented throughout 2023...

Yariv Dafna has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer of Infobip, a global cloud communications platform. Dafna has nearly two decades of experience in finance, business administration, and operations. He previously served as Group CFO at Evoke PLC and as President and Group CFO at Telit Communications PLC...

Dan Odell has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of Consensys, a company specializing in blockchain and web3 software technology. Odell brings a wealth of experience in finance and strategy to the role, with a particular emphasis on the media, games, consumer applications, and web3 industries...

Cerebras Systems, a leader in generative AI acceleration, has named Bob Komin as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Komin brings more than 30 years of financial leadership experience at high-growth technology companies, including serving as CFO of Sunrun, Flurry, and Tellme Networks...