North America’s energy-focused private equity firms just saw a five-year low in fund closings and the lowest amount of total capital raised for energy investment since early 2016. During the 2014-2016 period of low oil prices, many energy-focused funds raised billions of U.S. dollars, aiming to invest the money in energy assets at bargain prices. But as oil prices increased from 2017 onwards, there have been few bargains left and asset valuations have increased. Add to this a mixed bag of investor returns over the past few years amid volatile prices, and energy-focused private equity funds had their worst quarterly performance in years in terms of capital raised and funds successfully closed. In the first quarter of 2019, private equity firms in North America closed four funds with a total capital of just US$1.4 billion, compared to a dozen funds closed with as much as US$4.8 billion raised in […]