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Q3 2024
US PE Middle Market Report
December 12, 2024
This report was updated on February 11, 2025, to correct data labels in the charts on pages 21 and 22.
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Middle-market recovery plays catch-up to larger buyouts
PE dealmaking in the middle market has sprung back to life. However, the recovery progressed at a less brisk pace than the broader PE market. The total value of middle-market deals in Q3 rose 11% from the previous quarter, while US buyouts of all sizes accelerated by 13.3% quarter-over-quarter, according to PitchBook’s latest US PE Middle Market Report, sponsored by LBMC.
In addition, exits remain sluggish, lagging pre-pandemic levels. Our analysts project fewer than 800 middle-market exits for 2024, below the annual average of nearly 900 exits recorded from 2017 through 2019. Help may be on the way in the form of an improved environment for small company investing.
Table of contents
Interested in sponsoring future editions of this report? Visit our media partnerships page to learn more.
Middle-market recovery plays catch-up to larger buyouts
PE dealmaking in the middle market has sprung back to life. However, the recovery progressed at a less brisk pace than the broader PE market. The total value of middle-market deals in Q3 rose 11% from the previous quarter, while US buyouts of all sizes accelerated by 13.3% quarter-over-quarter, according to PitchBook’s latest US PE Middle Market Report, sponsored by LBMC.
In addition, exits remain sluggish, lagging pre-pandemic levels. Our analysts project fewer than 800 middle-market exits for 2024, below the annual average of nearly 900 exits recorded from 2017 through 2019. Help may be on the way in the form of an improved environment for small company investing.
Table of contents
| Executive summary | 4 |
| Deals | 6 |
| Deal valuation metrics | 9 |
| A word from LBMC | 14 |
| Spotlight: Year-to-date operating trends sending mixed signals | 17 |
| Exits | 18 |
| Fundraising and performance | 23 |
| US PE middle-market lending league tables | 27 |