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Private equity firms are facing systemic challenges after a half-century of meteoric growth as attractive takeover targets become scarce and financing costs remain elevated while exits prove increasingly difficult. US buyout funds currently hold more than 12,000 companies that would take approximately nine years to fully distribute at current rates, according to PitchBook data. The industry holds $1.2 trillion in dry powder and nearly a quarter of that capital was pledged at least four years ago. More than 18,000 private capital funds seek $3.3 trillion from increasingly reluctant investors, Bain estimates. Quarterly returns for US private equity funds fell from 13.5% in Q2 2021 to 0.8% in Q4 2024. Apollo President Jim Zelter described the situation as a "natural washout" at an investor conference this month. Charles Wilson of Selby Jennings added that "many PE firms are dead already, they just don't know it" and noted survival depends on how forgiving limited partners -- the entities, including pension funds and endowments, that have invested in private equity firms -- prove when firms return for new fundraising.

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Mabel Williams died at just six days old after suffering brain injuries caused by a lack of oxygen during birth. Her mother Becky Williams was not warned about the most serious risks, an inquest heard.

“It was just random that we were going to see him and he was there in front of him, it wasn’t arranged at all.

Formerly known as the Puppet Festival, Witham Street Entertainment Festival has become a main fixture in the town’s event calendar.

It is often described as one of the prettiest castles in England - and it looks particularly stunning in autumn

Footage shows the group of serious offenders, who include killers, thieves and sexual abusers, being forcibly returned to Romania having served part of their sentences in prison.

Jayne Hadlow, 60, who lives in Essex with her husband Alan, had never met her brother Andrew until recently, thanks to ITV's Long Lost Family team.

Ms Buckley was last seen in January in CCTV footage taken near her home. Karl Hutchings, 48, last week admitted murdering her - despite her body not having been located at the time.

Erdoğan appeared visibly annoyed as he left the UN headquarters in Manhattan on Tuesday.

The Daily Mail's Deputy Head of Travel Benjamin Parker checks in to The July in Victoria, London - is it the coolest 'aparthotel' in town?

The best-rated McDonald's restaurant in England has been revealed in a new study conducted by experts at Remove Background - and it's good news for Cornwall.

The singer, 76, appeared on the iconic sofa to chat to hosts Cat Deeley , 48, and Ben Shephard , 50, about her new memoir If Only You Knew.

Rumours are swirling at Westminster that Keir Starmer could signal a shift on the policy at party conference next week, as he desperately tries to placate mutinous MPs.

The aspiring chef, 26, bore a strong resemblance to his footballer dad as he sported a light brown beard.

Liz Bates (left), from Bournemouth, Dorset, has had her sea view replaced by a brick wall which is part of a development of 27 luxury flats.

Mark Gurman, a veteran Apple analyst at Bloomberg, claims that Apple will launch its first foldable model in 2026.

Standing in the bedroom, tugging socks on to my four-year-old son's feet, I felt my phone buzz with the news every working mother dreads. Our child's nursery had been forced to close for the day.

The Duchess of York had already been dropped by a string of charities in the UK after her bombshell leaked email to Jeffrey Epstein.

That there will be another substantial rise in taxes in November's Budget - for the second year in a row - is not in doubt, writes ANDREW NEIL.

CNBC: Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday on his Instagram account. "What an incredible community we've built here," Zuckerberg posted on his Instagram channel. The figure is a major milestone for the photo-sharing app, which the social media company acquired in 2012 for $1 billion. Meta last disclosed Instagram's user figures in October 2022 when Zuckerberg said during an earnings call that the app had crossed 2 billion monthly users.

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