Billionaire families fuel 27b wave of listed firm takeovers

Ultra-rich individuals and families worth more than US$150 billion are helping drive a resurgence in private equity buyouts, providing capital for some of the year's biggest acquisitions to overcome a tough dealmaking environment.

Wealthy clans that built their fortunes in industries ranging from children's toys to household boilers have been co-investors on nearly US$20 billion (S$27 billion) of listed company takeovers in 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

They have made a mark on Wall Street as go-to sources of capital for investment firms such as KKR & Co and Silver Lake, helping them get acquisitions over the line at a time when borrowed money remains expensive.

Germany's Viessmann family, flush with cash after a major divestment, teamed up with KKR for its US$3 billion acquisition of renewable energy firm Encavis announced in March.

The century-old dynasty has an estimated net worth of US$13.7 billion after completing the sale of its heating and cooling business to Carrier Global Corp in January, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Meanwhile, Mr Michael Dell's family office partnered Silver Lake on the biggest private equity buyout in 2024, a US$13 billion deal for talent agency Endeavor Group Holdings.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management closed its purchase of Norwegian e-learning platform Kahoot! in January with funding from Denmark's Kirk Kristiansen dynasty, the owners of Lego Group.