One of the bigger matchups so far in the World Cup brings powerhouse Germany and underdog United States together in a battle to move on from the group stage. A tie will advance both teams, but don’t count on either being satisfied with that result, especially since neither can be happy with the outcome of their previous match. We took a look at the PE and VC spaces of the countries to see how they stacked up, and it’s safe to say the ‘powerhouse’ role would go to the Americans.
Our data reflecting PE and VC activity in the U.S. and Germany reveals a wide gap between the countries, going back to the start of 2010. U.S. firms have participated in 32,070 deals in that timeframe, investing close to $1 trillion altogether. The numbers for German investors pale in comparison: 1,665 deals and $67 billion capital invested, though both figures still rank highly compared to the rest of the world. Another eye-opening statistic: The number of funds closed by U.S.-based firms (1717) dwarfs the number of Germany-based funds (53) that have closed since the start of 2010.
There does seem to be healthy investment in the B2C industry by both countries. The industry has brought in the highest total from each, with U.S. firms dropping $207.43 billion in the space, and another $21.89 billion invested by their German colleagues.
PitchBook’s Data also shows 2014 to have the makings for a down year for German PE and VC activity. Through the first five months of this year, German investors are behind last year’s pace for total capital invested —$21.05 billion in 2013 and only $2.92 billion in 2014— or total deals made —389 in 2013 and 108 so far in 2014. German firms are lagging on exits in 2014, as well, reaching only a fifth of total number of exits and grabbing only a third of the capital exited in 2013.
The datagraphic below (created by Jennifer Sam) has the starting lineups for the U.S. and Germany with some of the stats from the last four years. Be sure to request a demo of the PitchBook Platform to learn more about our U.S., Europe and International data. We’ll continue to add more World Cup content throughout the tournament with more data and analysis. Check it all out by clicking on our World Cup tag.
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