For all the talk about the lingering trouble private equity funds (private equity news) will have in raising funds and exiting investments, there has been signs of life on the deal front. Nearly $13 billion in private equity deals have been announced in the past three months, compared with $2.5 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Bloomberg. That's a nice increase, but it's obviously a generous comparison point.

Still, financing conditions are improving, the economy is improving and valuations are attractive, as same-store sales pick up a bit. So we may see a spate of deals. Bloomberg suggests that deals for consumer and retail firms especially may be in the offing. We may even see more exit moves.

The decisions by KKR to take Dollar General public has been anything but a disaster. But it's way too early to start making any real pronouncements about the return of deals. The industry has, however, a lot of cash to deal with. It will take a whole lot of deals to erase the idea that more funds will have to ask investors for more time to invest their funds or give the money back. 

For more:
- here's the Bloomberg article

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