Evercore: $141bn of secondaries buying power over next 12 months

There will be at least $141 billion in secondaries buying power between now and the end of the first half of next year, according to research by Evercore.

In its H1 2018 Secondary Markets Survey, the advisory firm found that buyers intend to raise $77 billion during the second half of this year and H1 2019. Including leverage and the $64 billion of dry powder as of 30 June, this could mean between $170 billion and $200 billion will be available for secondaries.

Current dry powder is down on the $77 billion recorded at year-end 2017.

Dry powder is heavily concentrated among the largest funds; the top six account for 50 percent, the top 14 for 80 percent and the top 20 for 90 percent of the total, according to the survey.

The same concentration is visible when it comes to transaction volumes, which hit $32 billion in the first half compared with $54 billion for full-year 2017. The top five buyers accounted for 50 percent of transaction volumes in the first half, compared with six buyers in 2017.

Though fewer respondents than last year claim to have been offered a preferred equity solution, the market performed strongly in the first half and is set to exceed last year’s total by some margin.

The survey was based on responses from more than 50 participants.