Growth in the private equity industry is expected to slow, with the historic pace of a threefold increase every decade tapering to about two times over the next 10 years.
As the industry matures, consolidation will intensify, with firms either consolidating or being absorbed, according to Partners Group co-founder, Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Client Oversight Committee Urs Wietlisbach.
“The days of major new names emerging are over. While spin-offs may still occur, it’s much harder to gain shelf space now than it was 20 years ago,” said Wietlisbach.
The industry, he noted, is in a consolidation phase rather than a growth phase, with tighter compliance regulations that make global operations more complex.
“With pension plans, especially in the US, already at their allocation limits, the key question for them is: ‘What more can you offer?’” said Wietlisbach.
As the PE industry matures, firms like Partners Group, with a strong investment engine and operations platform, are well-positioned to be consolidators, Wietlisbach stated.
He believes the private infrastructure industry holds the highest growth potential, with three to four times growth possible over the next ten years, driven by decarbonization and digitalisation trends.
The investment firm recently agreed to acquire Australia’s GreenSquare Data Centers and has invested over $4 billion in data centres since 2021.
Early this year, the firm launched an evergreen fund to give institutional investors across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia access to its multi-sector royalty strategy. This gives the investors access to Partners Group’s entire royalty portfolio, which comprises 30 royalty investments across entertainment, pharmaceuticals, and energy transition sectors.
Partners Group total assets under management (AUM) stands at $152 billion as of 31 December 2024. It has committed $22 billion globally across private markets asset classes and generated $18 billion in realizations. For 2025, Partners Group expects total new client assets of $26-31 billion.
In a wide-ranging interview with DealStreetAsia, Wietlisbach spoke about the challenges and opportunities in global private equity, investment priorities in Asia, the firm’s evergreen fund strategy, the role of AI and succession planning at Partners Group.
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