Debevoise & Plimpton Releases 2025 Private Equity Outlook Report

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced today the release of its 2025 Private Equity Outlook report, marking the 25^th anniversary of the Report.

The private equity industry enters 2025 amidst numerous positive indicators. Investors are returning to private equity strategies after having been kept on the sidelines by poor macroeconomic conditions in 2022 and 2023. Interest rate cuts by both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are now creating a more favorable liquidity and dealmaking environment. Both capital markets and alternative financing markets are strong. Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election altered the U.S regulatory outlook overnight, promising a return to a less aggressive and more predictable approach by regulators in a wide range of areas, including antitrust, SEC enforcement, ESG and noncompetes. And the EU introduced a "simplification revolution" with the goal of reducing EU reporting requirements by 25%.

But there are also new complexities with which to contend. Geopolitics is an increasingly concrete concern, with new outbound investment regulations taking effect in the United States, CFIUS scrutinizing private equity transactions and North Korea undertaking a sophisticated campaign to infiltrate the systems of U.S. businesses (while generating revenue for state coffers). A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling brings new considerations when conducting due diligence of a portfolio company's or target's trademark portfolio. The legal landscape regarding governance rights provisions in stockholder agreements continues to evolve. And if the Trump administration puts ESG on the federal back burner, companies must still navigate a patchwork of ESG regulations across U.S. state jurisdictions, as well as in the UK and the EU.

The 2025 Private Equity Report is a useful summary of both the positive developments and the new challenges shaping the market in the year ahead. It is available here.

About the Debevoise Private Equity Group

Debevoise is a trusted partner and legal advisor to a majority of the world's largest private equity firms, and has been a market leader in the Private Equity industry for over 40 years. The firm's Private Equity Group brings together the diverse skills and capabilities of more than 400 lawyers around the world from a multitude of practice areas, working together to advise our clients across the entire private equity life cycle.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. We deliver effective solutions to our clients' most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgment and a distinctively collaborative approach.

SOURCE Debevoise & Plimpton LLP