What is an unlisted company worth, and what does Private Equity really return? The analyses under this theme set the figures of the major data providers — PitchBook, Invest Europe, Bain, McKinsey — against one another, and show that the same question can call for several answers depending on the source and the method. They also follow the market’s cycles, from the 2008 crisis to the 2025 slowdown.
Key metrics:
- the valuation multiple (enterprise value / EBITDA);
- IRR, the internal rate of return, which measures performance over time;
- the multiple of invested capital (TVPI);
- DPI, the share of capital actually returned to investors, which has become central now that exits are slow to come.
Start with: No. 32 — How Much Are Mid-Sized Companies Worth in 2026? · No. 26 — Private Equity: An Asset Class Come of Age · No. 28 — Transaction Value 2025
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