Bain & Co’s Global Private Equity Report 2021 begins with the pronouncement from Hugh MacArthur, the company’s head of global private equity, that “There Is No New Normal”. This assertion is backed by figures from the report which show that by the end of 2020, buyout deal-making worldwide was up 8% from 2019 to US$592 billion. What’s more, $410 billion of that came in the third and fourth quarters. And all this despite a 24% fall in the number of deals to around 3,100, from 4,100 in 2019. General partners were simply putting a lot more money to work per deal. It’s a trend that is expected to continue. As MacArthur says, “with soaring levels of dry powder, robust credit markets and recovering economies, 2021 deal markets promise to be incredibly busy”.