2008’s Most Active Deal-Doers

The ability to source a deal isn’t much to brag about these days, with only the rarest of deals actually getting completed. Look no further than Carlyle Group, which is laying off 100 employees, a including a number of its deal team members, for proof.

The decline in deals is apparent in a report released by PitchBook Data:

For the first three quarters of 2008, there were 1,302 completed deals, a 33% decline from the 1,936 deals over the same period a year ago.

Still, 1,302 deals is nothing to sneeze at, and there are plenty of firms out there striking deals, just at a much, much slower pace than, say, two years ago. I believe the phrase I keep hearing is “Ten times more work for one tenth of the results.”

In the report, PitchBook lists the top 50 most active private equity firms year to date. Guess what? Layoff-burdened Carlyle Group is listed as number three! (However I think they’ve now been passed by Sun Capital, as the firm told me it’s done 23 deals this year, not 19 as PitchBook reports.) Follow the jump to see them all.

View the entire report here.