Most people assume that the credit crunch has given private equity firms a strong punch right in the gut. Short-term that appears to be the case. Just look at the stock of the Blackstone Group. But as CNNmoney.com reports, there are some upsides, depending on your point of view. While volume is bound to decline, the quality of future deals may well go up. Ernst & Young suggests that leverage-driven deals might take a back seat to earnings and fundamentals-driven deals. Other debt-driven practices may also abate, notably the debt-financed dividends that most funds have feasted on. It may be that funds must wait a bit longer to stage exist, via offerings or strategic sales or sales to another company. Some would argue that this is good news, especially if you are a target.  

For more:
- here's the CNNmoney.com article