PE investment globally hits $1.5 trillion in first three quarters of 2025 despite slowdown in deal activity, according to KPMG’s Private Equity Pulse

• Q3’25 sees $537.1 billion in global PE investment across 4,062 deals
• US attracts $300.2 billion in PE investment during Q3’25
• Infrastructure sees $126.3 billion PE investment globally—already a three year high

23 October 2025 – At the end of Q3’25, global PE deal volume was $1.5 trillion — on pace to reach a four-year high should investment remain steady through Q4’25. The buoyant investment is notable given the significant decline in deal volume — from 15,083 deals in the first three quarters of 2024 to 13,574 in the first three quarters of 2025.

After some pullback in PE investment in Q2’25 — driven largely by geopolitical tensions and uncertainties related to US tariffs — Q3’25 saw global PE investment reach $537.1 billion according to KPMG’s Q3’25 Pulse of Private Equity. The buoyant deal value was helped significantly by three very large public-to-private transactions in the US: Electronic Arts ($54.6 billion), Air Lease ($28.2 billion), and Dayforce ($12.4 billion).

The Americas accounted for 60% of global PE value in Q3’25 ($322.9 billion), and just under half of the total number of deals (1,977). Of this total, the US accounted for $300.2 billion across 1,971 deals. The EMA region came a distant second—with $178.3 billion in PE investment across 1,736 deals during Q3’25, led by the $7.7 billion buyout of UK-based Pension Insurance Corporation — while Asia saw $30.6 billion in PE investment across 253 deals — led by the $2.1 billion buyout of Australia-based Insignia Financial.

At a sector level, the TMT sector attracted the largest share of PE investment globally in the first three quarters of 2025 ($469 billion), although the level of investment was tracking well shy of the $647.3 billion seen in 2024. Meanwhile, PE investment in the infrastructure and transportation space was already $126.3 billion at the end of Q3’25 — far ahead of the $99.4 billion and $98.7 billion seen during 2023 and 2024 respectively. 

• Global PE investment in Q3’25 was $537.1 billion — up from $512 billion during Q3’24, despite a much lower volume of deals — 4,062 in Q3’25 compared to 5,032 in Q3’24.
• PE investment in the Americas was robust in Q3’25, with $322.9 billion in deal value — up from $306.1 billion in Q3’24. The US accounted for $300.2 billion of this total — up from $283.8 billion in Q3’24.
• PE investment in the EMA region was $178.3 billion in Q3’25 — up from $145.4 billion during the same quarter of 2024, while PE investment in Asia was just $30.6 billion — a substantial decline from the $42.9 billion seen in Q3’24. 
• The value of PE deals with cross border participation was $750 billion at the end of Q3’25 — a significant increase over 2024’s results and just shy of the pace required to match the $1.1 trillion high seen in 2021.
• Global PE exit value was $832 billion at the end of Q3’25 — well-positioned to be the second largest annual total in a decade after 2021.
• At the end of Q3’25, exit value for public listings was already at its highest level since 2020 — $198.7 billion. The uptick was driven primarily by the US and Asia, with the two regions accounting for $111.7 billion and $45.9 billion respectively.
• As of the end of Q3’25, the sectors that attracted the most PE investment globally included TMT ($469 billion), Industrial Manufacturing ($217.7 billion), and Consumer and Retail ($208.8 billion). PE investment in Infrastructure and ($126.3 billion) was already well above 2023 and 2024’s levels. 
• Global PE fundraising was $314.1 billion across 393 funds at the end of Q3’25 — well below the pace needed to match 2024’s annual total of $585 billion across 910 funds. 

The PE exit market picked up noticeably from a value perspective, with $832 billion in exit value as of the end of Q3’25 — close to the $887 billion seen during all of 2024. At the current rate, exit value could come second only to 2021’s outlier year, which saw $1.7 trillion in exit value. Exit value associated with public listings rose to its highest level since 2020 — $198.7 billion at the end of Q3’25 — although the US and Asia accounted for $111.7 billion and $45.9 billion of this total respectively. In the EMA region, public listings remained very constrained. While the improvement in exit value was promising, exit volume remained very low at just 2,155 exits at the close of Q3’25 — a level not seen in over a decade. 

PE deals with cross border participation accounted for $750 billion in deal value across 4,849 deals as of the end of Q3’25 — only slightly under the pace required to match 2021’s record high of $1.1 trillion. The increase in cross-border participation likely reflects a number of factors, including the need to look globally for high quality assets. Geopolitical tensions and the growing focus on regionalization and the development of domestic industries, has likely also led some PE investors to increasingly diversify their investments and supplier base across geographies in order to get closer to key markets. 

PE investment in the Americas was quite robust in Q3’25, with $322.9 billion of PE investment across 1,977 deals. The US attracted $300.1 billion of this total — a fourteen-quarter high, driven in large part by the $54.6 billion take private of Electronic Arts by Silver Lake Partners, Affinity Partners and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF, the $28.2 billion take private of Air Lease by SMBC Aviation Capital, Sumitomo Corporation, Apollo and Brookfield, and the $12.4 billion take private of HR software company Dayforce by Thomas Bravo. Outside of the US, Canada saw $16.3 billion in PE investment during Q3’25 — led by the $4.2 billion recapitalization deal by Green Infrastructure Partners.

During Q3’25, the EMA region saw $178 billion in PE investment across 1,736 deals. While investment was up by a fair margin compared to Q3’24’s $145.4 billion, deal volume was the lowest the region has seen since Q3’25. The UK attracted four of the five largest deals of the quarter, led by the $7.7 billion secondary buyout of Pension Insurance Corporation by Athora. Within the EMA region, healthcare continued to attract a significant amount of interest — with $42.5 billion in PE investment as of the end of Q3’25 — within reach of the $54 billion peak high seen in 2022.

PE investment in the Asia remained quite muted in Q3’25, despite deal value rising from $21.2 billion to $30.6 billion between Q2’25 and Q3’25. Deal volume Q3’25 dropped to just 253 — the lowest level since Q2’20. Uncertainties related to US tariffs continued to be a major factor in the softness of dealmaking in Asia, with many PE investors in the region holding back until tariff policies have stabilized and they are in a better position to models impacts. China, for example, saw just $4 billion in investment across 24 deals during the quarter.

Australia bucked downward trends, attracting $9.9 billion in PE investment across 95 deals — an increase in both deal volume and deal value compared to Q3’24’s $9.2 billion of PE investment across 79 deals.

Looking forward, there is cautious optimism that PE market activity will improve — particularly as interest rates continue to decline and the uncertainties related to US tariffs stabilize further. Improving IPO market conditions, at least in the US and Asia, are also expected to improve exit opportunities — including the use of parallel track exits — over the next few quarters. At a sector level, AI infrastructure will likely continue to attract significant attention from PE investors, while defense could see growing interest over time as governments continue to pour money into the space.

Marie-Helene De-messou,
Corporate Communications, KPMG International

T: 202.569.6824
E: mdemessou@kpmg.com

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