Private equity is raising record amount of cash

Since the beginning of April, we've seen:

• The largest global PE fund ever raised: SoftBank Vision Fund, $93 billion (total target $100 billion)
• The largest Europe-based PE fund ever raised: CVC Capital Partners, €16 billion
• The largest Asia-focused fund ever raised: KKR Asia III, $9.3 billion
• The largest U.S.-based tech PE fund ever raised: Silver Lake V, $15 billion.

Moreover, The Blackstone Group is halfway toward the largest infrastructure fund ever raised ($40 billion target) and Apollo Global Management is raising the largest-ever U.S.-based buyout fund ($23.5 billion target). There also was an SEC filing today that showed Sequoia Capital had raised nearly $2 billion for a global growth equity fund, which is far more than the venerable Silicon Valley firm has ever before raised.