Sales to Strategics Still Dominating Exits

Generac Power Systems has raised $243.7 million via its public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GNRC. The generator manufacturer sold 18.75 million shares at the price of $13 per share, below the previously set range of $15 and $17 per share. The company's owners, CCMP Capital and Unitas Capital, did not sell any shares in the offering and hold a post-offering stake of 58.4% and 4.3%, respectively. GNRC shares traded down in the first day by 1.23%, ending at $12.84 per share.

There have been 35 completed full or partial exits by private equity firms so far in 2010, according to the PitchBook Platform. Sales to strategic acquirers have dominated exits, accounting for 63% of them. Five of these were the sale of assets or divisions, such as The Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners-backed Open Solutions' sale of its Flex Software Assets. Twenty percent of exits have been secondary sales to other private equity firms, such as The Riverside Company's sale of ATI Career Training Center to BC Partners. The four IPOs completed in 2010 so far make up 12% of the exits.