In Their Own Words With Limited Partners and Placement Agents

January 1, 2021 – Partner Brian Gallagher reflects on one of the most challenging years for private equity in nearly a decade and what lies ahead for 2021 with The Wall Street Journal.

“Training, mentoring and building a strong culture for our younger and newer team members from home has been one of the most challenging aspects of the pandemic. Private equity relies so much on qualitative factors and judgments that can only be optimized in person. Videoconferencing has been a good short-term substitute, but we look forward to more face-to-face team interaction in 2021.”

When asked about the biggest risks facing the U.S. midmarket in 2021, he said, “Midmarket purchase price multiples are at or near all-time highs. With an enormous amount of capital sitting on the sidelines, it may be difficult to find quality midmarket deals at the right price in 2021. These market dynamics will continue to fuel interest in the small buyout area of the market, which has become an attractive area of investment for private-equity investors.”