U.S. private-equity funds break record with $215B purse in 2006

DATELINE: NEW YORK

U.S. private-equity firms in 2006 smashed the previous fund-raising record in 2000 by a margin of 22 percent with a collective purse of $215.4 billion among 322 funds, according to a year-end tally released Thursday by Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst, an industry newsletter that began tracking the trend in 1991.

The year's total surpassed the 2005 level by 33 percent.

Private equity includes buyout and corporate finance funds, venture capital, mezzanine funds and funds of funds.

"The robust fund-raising climate was buoyed by investors' willingness to plunge ever-larger sums into this asset class as well as buyout firms pursuing bigger acquisitions at a faster pace," said Jennifer Rossa, managing editor of The Private Equity Analyst.

The newsletter is published by Dow Jones & Co., which also publishes Dow Jones Newswires, The Wall Street Journal and other financial news outlets.