In Brief
- Companies are remaining private for longer—capturing key growth phases before IPO—so public markets represent a shrinking slice of the opportunity set (e.g., median IPO age rose from 4 years in 1999 to 12 years by 2020; >85% of $100M+ revenue U.S. companies are private).
- Investment and exit activity are rebounding as rate headwinds ease, with total deal value reaching post-pandemic highs in 2025—supporting capital recycling into fundraising and future deployment.
- Private-market liquidity is improving as the secondary market expands, creating additional exit routes and potential opportunities to buy at discounts to NAV when sellers need liquidity.
Investors risk missing opportunities if they don't look beyond public markets.
Companies are choosing to stay private, and can stay private longer, due to the abundance of private capital.
In 1999, the median age of a company being taken public was 4 years, by 2020 that had increased to 12 years. This means that many companies may experience their fastest growth phases while still private. Overall, listed companies represented a small set of all companies. More than 85% of companies with revenue of over $100 million in the U.S. are privately held.
Investment-exit dynamics are improving.
Elevated global interest rates have slowed deal-making since 2022. However, as interest rates gradually normalize towards neutral levels globally, headwinds to deal activity are starting to fade in private equity.
Subsequently, both private equity investment and exit activities have picked up globally, with total deal value reaching post-pandemic highs in 2025. Stronger exit activity are particularly crucial as these are recycled into fundraising and providing into dry powder, supporting the next fund deployment and performances.
The private secondary market is growing.
Secondary transactions can create much needed liquidity for both General Partners and Limited Partners in private equity, and is another avenue to exit a private company or part of a private equity fund.
The secondary private equity market marked its strongest year ever in 2025. The limited exit activity in public markets has driven investors to the secondary market. Idiosyncratic need for liquidity from the owners could unlock potential discounts in the secondary market, allowing investors to acquire assets at a lower price to NAVs.