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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

European private equity and venture capital entry volume dropped to a five-year low in the first half of 2020 as managers turned away from deal-making to focus on their existing portfolios in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The number of deals announced dropped 13% compared with the first half of 2019 to 2,133, said the study.

But while announced gross transaction value dipped by 9% to €63.65 billion over the period, it remained higher than valuations for the first half of 2016 through to 2018 due to a handful of large deals.

A string of mega-deals was announced in the first quarter. These included Advent International Corp. and Cinven Ltd.'s announced acquisition of ThyssenKrupp AG's elevator business for €17.2 billion. The deal, which closed July 31, was the largest private equity buyout in Europe in a decade, said the study.

But including add on activity in first-half figures changes the picture. Aggregate valuations for entries and add ons plummeted 43% to $133.45 billion in the six months to June 30. Deal volume also fell to 5,308 announced entry and add ons from 6,245 deals in the same 2019 period.

Second-quarter entries fell by 11% from 1,130 in the first quarter to 1,003. Add on figures slipped by 28% in the first quarter from 605 deals to 437 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, and governments imposed lockdowns.

The U.K. was the busiest geography ......................

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