London-based buyout firm Doughty Hanson’s decision to pull its planned €1 billion IPO on Euronext in October suggests there’s not much retail or high-net-worth demand for private equity when some commentators are already calling the top of the market. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts managed to raise $5 billion through its Euronext IPO earlier this year but Apollo subsequently struggled to raise $2 billion and both firms’ shares have been underwater since. At the beginning of October, KKR was trading at a 16% discount.
“I think other players have looked at those two events and said maybe these first two deals took most of the interest out of the market. Any other deals that come will be smaller scale,” says Peter Aliprantis, head of alternative investments for private banking in the US at Credit Suisse....
