24 July 2025 – Global private equity investment declined from $505.3 billion in Q1’25 to $363.7 billion in Q2’25, with deal volume falling even more sharply — from 4,527 to 3,769 deals. The drop in PE investment activity reflects the significant caution of PE investors amidst geopolitical tensions, shifting global trade dynamics, and uncertainties related to US tariff policies, according to the second edition of KPMG’s Pulse of Private Equity.
Regionally, the slowdown in PE investment was most pronounced in the Americas, where funding fell from $319.8 billion in Q1’25 to nearly $214 billion in Q2’25. The U.S. attracted the vast majority of this investment, with $202.0 billion across 1,608 deals. The EMA region also saw a decline in PE investment, from $136.6 billion across 1,850 deals to $117.4 billion across 1,669 deals quarter-over-quarter.
The ASPAC region was hardest hit, with PE investment in the region falling from $36.2 billion to only $20.8 billion quarter-over-quarter. Deal activity in the region also showed a visible slowdown, with the number of deals dropping from 282 to 220 between Q1’25 and Q2’25.
Despite the overall decline in private equity investment, several sectors demonstrated unexpected strength, revealing resilient pockets of activity across the globe. Life Sciences stood out in particular, with investment reaching $6.9 billion by midyear-well above the $4.2 billion recorded for all of 2024. The Healthcare, Energy & Natural Resources, and Infrastructure sectors also showed strong momentum, with midyear totals of $79.3 billion, $110.8 billion, and $74.4 billion respectively-each already exceeding their full-year 2024 figures.
At a sector level, TMT attracted the largest share of PE investment globally ($247.2 billion) although it was well off the pace needed to match the $649.9 billion the sector attracted in 2024. Industrial Manufacturing attracted the second largest share of PE investment ($132.4 billion).
The real standouts from a sector perspective were Life Sciences — with $6.8 billion at midyear, compared to $4.2 billion during all of 2024; Energy and Natural Resources — with $106.95 billion, compared to $201.6 billion during all of 2024; Infrastructure and Transport — with $74.4 billion, compared to the $95.4 billion seen during all of 2025, and Healthcare — with $79.3 billion, compared to $141.5 billion last year.
Private equity investment in the Americas fell in Q2’25, with $213.96 billion invested — down from $319.8 billion in Q1’25. The U.S. remained the dominant PE market in the region, accounting for $202 billion of the Q2’25 total, despite a marked decline from $264.5 billion in investment during Q1’25. After a record-breaking Q1’25, Canada saw a sharp pullback in PE investment, with just $6.1 billion invested across 104 deals — the country’s weakest quarter since 2020.
PE investment in the EMA region fell to an eight-quarter low of $117.4 billion in Q2’25, although individual jurisdictions within the region saw varied results. Notably, the UK saw a strong rebound in PE investment--from $24.9 billion across 389 deals in Q1’25 to $36.8 billion across 419 deals in Q2’25. The level of PE investment in Germany, meanwhile, held relatively steady at $15 billion across 148 deals, while France saw sharp decline from $29.5 billion to $14.5 billion quarter-over-quarter.
The PE market in the ASPAC region was marked by sharp contrasts in Q2’25. Overall VC investment in the region fell from $36.2 billion in Q1’25 to $20.8 billion in Q2’25. At a jurisdictional level, Japan attracted $3.6 billion in PE investment during Q2’25, while Australia saw $11.2 billion — more than double its Q1’25 total — and China posted its slowest quarter on record with $700 million. South Korea also attracted three of the top ten deals in the region in Q2’25.
Global PE fundraising declined for the fourth straight quarter — with just $442 billion raised across 608 funds during Q2’25 based on rolling 12-month tallies, as opposed to calendar year — down from $492 billion across 647 funds in Q1’25. The decline was even more notable when comparing the first six-months of 2025 to the first six months of 2024; as of the end of Q2’25, only 1,255 new funds had been raised, compared to 2,511 at the end of Q2’24.
There has also been a noticeable shift in fund size composition, with fewer mega-funds ($1B+) and fewer funds under $100 million closing compared to previous years. Instead, fundraising has concentrated in the mid-range deal sizes — between $100 million and $1 billion.
Heading into Q3’25, PE investors globally will likely remain cautious until there is more stability in the market and more predictability around US tariff policies. PE investors will likely continue to focus significantly on high quality assets, on industries with the most resilience — such as infrastructure, energy, and healthcare — and on companies focused on domestic markets.
Marie-Helene De-messou,
Corporate Communications, KPMG International
T: 202.569.6824
E: mdemessou@kpmg.com
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Global Head of Private Equity, KPMG International & US Private Equity Advisory Leader
KPMG in the U.S.