Our biannual holding period study draws on the Private Equity Info M&A research database to monitor changes in trends and exit behavior. The current release spans private equity exits from 2000 through 2025.
The median holding period for private equity-backed portfolio companies has now reached 6.0 years, the longest since we have been tracking this metric.
.png?width=4403&height=2558&name=PE%20Holding%20Period(2000-2025).png)
Holding Period Methodology & Drivers
For each year, we calculate holding periods for exited portfolio companies by measuring the duration between investment and exit foreach portfolio company. The graph above presents the median holding period for all PE exits that year.
Accordingly, the holding period is not just influenced by economic and industry specific conditions during the year of exit, it is also a commentary on the conditions at entry, and across the intervening years.
Evolving Exit Dynamics and Market Influence
Our prior holding period updates suggested that extended holding periods would persist as sponsors delayed exits amid limited visibility, some market uncertainty and impacts from economic conditions surrounding the investment date. That view largely proved correct.
Implications
Fewer realizations affect more than distributions to LPs. They shape portfolio strategy and fundraising plans. For example, n recent years, many sponsors emphasized add-ons acquisitions, prioritizing controllable growth and making smaller bite-sized bets. This has been a significant shift in the aggregate PE investment strategy.
Navigating Prolonged Holding Periods
History shows that recovery takes time. After the Dot-com bubble, the Great Recession, and COVID-19 pandemic, median holds typically needed four to six years to normalize, with peaks about one to one and a half years above prior levels.
Today’s data suggests a similar trajectory. Holding periods appear near cyclical highs. If financing conditions and buyer confidence continue to stabilize, the market could see a gradual pickup in exits over the next 12–18 months.
Vintage also matters. The median hold period of 6.0 years equates to median acquisitions right around the time of the Covid pandemic, with half of the current portfolio companies acquired pre-pandemic. The issue is, those deals and those from the 2021-2022 period were likely completed at elevated valuations. Working through that inventory should eventually relieve pressure on the median hold period.
Fundraising Implications
As realizations rebuild, distributions to limited partners should improve, supporting the fundraising environment into 2027-2028.
