There were 681 private equity-backed buyout deals, worth a combined USD 71.6 billion, announced globally in Q3 2012, up 9 per cent on the previous quarter and 77 per cent higher than Q1 2012, according to alternative assets industry intelligence provider, Preqin.

Although the aggregate capital raised by private equity funds reaching a final close in Q3 2012 fell significantly from the previous quarter, this level of capital shows a large uptick in private equity activity compared to same quarter in 2011.

Preqin’s quarterly venture capital deal-flow data shows that 1,226 venture capital financings were announced during Q3 2012, with an aggregate value of USD 9.3bn – an 8 per cent drop in the number and a 20 per cent decline in the value of deals in comparison to Q2 2012.

DealMarket looks at Advent's agreement to buy Dutch medical devices and pharmaceutical group Mediq for EUR 1.03 billion including debt in its deal of the week, US-based PE investors' prediction that the number of acquisitions and exits occuring by the end of the year will stay the same or even increase slightly, and the prediction that big buyouts will remain scarce, in the latest edition of its PE news digest.

In this edition of Preqin's infrastructure spotlight, a review of infrastructure in 2012 and a look at whether the market is gaining momentum, a comparison of data in the Asian and South American fund managing sector, as well as a round up of the fundraising market and the latest industry news.