During Q3’25, the US attracted a 14-quarter high of $300.1 billion in announced PE investment, highlighting the significant resilience of the US market despite stagnating deal volumes and the lingering impacts of rate volatility, tariff uncertainties, and caution related to valuations and financing. The buoyant investment was driven primarily by a handful of large, high-value transactions.
Q3’25 PE investment in the US hits $300 billion — first time since Q1’22
US attracts a fresh swell of $10 billion+ deals
During Q3’25, the US saw a strong crop of very large PE deals, including four deals of $10 billion or more; these included the take private of gaming company Electronic Arts by Silver Lake Partners, Affinity Partners, and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF for $54.7 billion,1 the take private of airplane leasing company Air Lease by SMBC Aviation Capital, Sumitomo Corporation, Apollo, and Brookfield for $28.2 billion,2 and the take private of HR software company Dayforce by Thoma Bravo for $12.4 billion. The quarter also saw KKR and Canada Pension Plan Investments purchase a 45 percent stake in energy company Sempra Infrastructure for $10 billion. These large deals reflect PE investors continuing to focus their attention on high-quality, high conviction assets.
The large deals seen in Q3’25 have buoyed 2025’s PE results to date; at the end of Q3’25, PE deal value was sitting at $827.8 billion — just shy of 2024’s total and on pace to reach a four-year high despite a significant decline in deal volume.
Median deal sizes in the US grow substantially in 2025
Compared to previous years, median deal sizes in the US have grown dramatically; as of the end of Q3’25, median deal sizes were $350 million for buyouts, $201 million for M&A transactions, and $21 million for PE growth deals. This reflects a number of related trends, including the impact of a concentration on top-end deals, a higher volume of $1 billion+ buyouts, and a growing number of private-to-public transactions compared to recent historical trends.
The abundance of dry powder in the PE market has also helped drive up median deal sizes as fund managers have focused on big asset deals able to deliver meaningful operational leverage. PE investors have also increasingly targeted large, highly-strategic scale up opportunities in critical sectors, including AI and data infrastructure and energy.
Exit deal flow in US already at four-year high at end of Q3’25 as IPO market in US sees door opening
The exit environment in the US is showing some signs of improvement. As of the end of Q3’25, exit value in the US was already $485.5 billion across 846 exits —the former already above totals seen in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Deal volume was very subdued however, with just 846 exits at the end of Q3’25 compared to 1,362 during all of 2024. Exit value associated with public listings was more than double 2024’s full year total of $44.1 billion at the end of Q3’25 ($111.7 billion).
Trends to watch for in Q4’25
Looking forward, AI and digital infrastructure are expected to attract increasing investment from PE funds in the US, in addition to energy infrastructure. Investment will likely remain robust in the healthcare services and healthtech spaces, while the fintech sector could see a pickup in activity as PE investors focus on consolidation opportunities — particularly in the payments and payments processing spaces.
While exit activity has improved over the course of 2025, there is still a significant amount of capital locked up in the PE market in the US. This will likely keep fundraising activity subdued until a stronger and more sustainable flow of exit activity is achieved.
Pulse of Private Equity Q3’25
A KPMG quarterly analysis of global private equity activity.
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