Private equity-backed buyout deals just completed their strongest quarter since the credit crunch took hold, according to alternative asset industry research firm Preqin.

The firm reports that a total of 411 private equity-backed buyout deals were announced in the second quarter, with an aggregate value oUS$43.3 billion, up from the 356 deals worth US$27.1 billion that were announced in the first quarter.

North America was a major source of deal flow, the firm said, as it generated 175 deals, accounting for US$26.7 billion; which is more than double the US$12.8 billion worth of deals that were done in the region in the first quarter. European activity was more or less flat at US$11 billion. Activity in Asia, and the rest of the world, rose 40% from the previous quarter to US$5.6 billion.

“Despite continuing challenges in the buyout market in this post-credit crunch landscape, dealflow in Q2 2010 represents the strongest quarter for buyout deals since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008,” noted Manuel Carvalho, managing analyst at Preqin. “This quarter has been notable for a surge in North America-based buyout activity.”

Preqin also says that almost half of all deals in the second quarter were leveraged buyouts, accounting for 54% of the aggregate deal value globally during the period. And, it says that there has been a significant rise in secondary buyout deals (an LBO where both the buyer and seller are private equity firms) in 2010, with 70 secondary buyouts valued at US$18.5 billion globally so far this year, compared with 59 transactions valued at US$6 billion in 2009.

IE