Secondary Market Report and Survey, March 2025 (William Blair / PCA)

Summary

• Secondary market volumes grew approximately 40% compared to 2023, notching an all-time high of $156 billion.p.2
• Record fundraises included Ardian ($30 billion), Blackstone ($25 billion), Lexington Partners ($26 billion) and HarbourVest Partners ($15 billion).p.2
• Single-asset continuation funds represented 45% of GP-led volume, and their volume increased 54% year-over-year with a total of 73 in 2024.p.4
• Multi-asset continuation fund volume was up 60% year-over-year, while the number of transactions declined to 33 in 2024.p.4
• Approximately 60% of secondary investors in the survey committed primary capital to a private equity firm's new flagship following a continuation fund, averaging approximately $15 million.p.7
• The LP-led market set a record with $80 billion in volume, effectively half the market.p.8
• Investors in the survey predict secondary volume will hit $300 billion by 2030.p.8

Key insights

1. Secondary volume growth outpaced sponsor-related M&A volumes, which improved nearly 25%, and global IPO activity, which fell 4%.p.2
2. Lead investors represented only about 50% of continuation fund transaction volume, as average transaction size continued to increase.p.5
3. Nearly 90% of continuation fund deals involved active members of the GP rolling 100% of their available proceeds into the continuation fund.p.7
4. In 23% of single-asset continuation fund deals, the GP invested with their flagship fund alongside the continuation fund.p.7
5. In 2024, LP-led sellers enjoyed the best pricing environment since early 2022.p.8
6. Secondary investors continued to lean into professional services and IT/software/hardware and away from consumer products and retail/restaurant sectors.p.6
7. The survey covered 72 secondaries investors from December 2024 through January 2025.p.10