'Auctions are back in the private equity/mid-market sector as well as the competitive pressure', Joost says. 'The market in 2015 was great for exits, however, private equity had a tough time being competitive in auction transactions.'

Joost is positive about the expectations for the private equity/M&A market in 2016. 'The Dutch economy seems to have found an upward trend after a long period of harsh recovery. Dutch businesses see opportunities and private equity and venture capital firms are excellent partners to achieve their ambitions', he says. Joost continues by saying that it looks as though in 2016 a lot of investments will be made by bigger international private equity players in the spin-offs of larger Dutch conglomerates (e.g. Philips Lumileds and Lighting, and NXP) and the number of private equity exits will continue to increase (including through IPOs). The vital role these investors play in guiding these companies to full independence is important to remind ourselves of.'

The complete article is available on Mena.nl (available in Dutch).