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JPMorgan’s M&A chief sees softer 2027–but a potential upside surprise in private equity exits
JPMorgan's M&A chief Charlie Bouckaert expects private equity firms to start selling by the second half of 2027, driven by pressure to
Key points
- Private equity unsold investments hit 33,853 as of Sept. 30, 2026, up from 33,575 at the end of June.
- PitchBook estimates it would take more than eight years to clear the current private equity inventory at the current pace of exits.
- Buyout holding periods have stretched to around seven years, compared with five to six years between 2010 and 2021, according to Bain.
Why it matters. Pressure to return capital to investors could push private equity firms to sell or refinance holdings, though Bouckaert said dealmaking is not expected to surge broadly in 2027.
Charlie Bouckaert, JPMorgan's global head of M&A, told Fortune's Morgan Chittum that some private equity firms may have to stop waiting to sell by the second half of 2027. Private equity unsold investments reached 33,853 as of Sept. 30, 2026, up from 33,575 at the end of June, according to PitchBook figures reported by the Wall Street Journal. PitchBook estimates it would take more than eight years to clear that inventory at the current pace of exits.
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JPMorgan’s M&A chief sees softer 2027–but a potential upside surprise in private equity exits
By the second half of 2027, some private equity firms may have to stop waiting for a better time to sell, JPMorgan’s global head of M&A says. Morgan Chittum here. Private equity firms have spent years waiting for a better time to sell. By the second half of 2027, some may have to stop waiting. That’s the view of Charlie Bouckaert, JPMorgan’s global head of M&A. He expects sponsors to start moving towards liquidity — not because he sees a dealmaking boom ahead, but because they’re running out of reasons to put it off. Their holdings are getting older, refinancing deadlines are approaching, and investors want their money back. “Ultimately, the private equity business model is reliant on exiting and returning capital to LPs,” Bouckaert told me . “And so that’s going to have to happen.” After all, backlogs are massive and growing. Private equity inventory of unsold investments hit 33,853 as of Sept. 30, 2026, up from 33,575 at the end of June, according to PitchBook figures reported by the Wall Street Journal. At the current pace of exits, PitchBook estimates it would take more than eight years to clear that inventory. This is, in part, a byproduct of private equity’s natural boom-and-bust cycle. A record-setting 2021 made way for sharp slowdown as aggressive interest rate hikes in 2022 ended the cheap-debt era. The recovery ever since then has been uneven. Although deal and exit v.