The amount of cash raised by Canadian private equity funds soared to a record $6.4 billion for the first nine months of this year from $1.4 billion for all of 2005, according to figures released Friday by Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA).

“The Canadian buyout sector is emerging as a serious player in the global private equity markets, as the strong returns achieved by Canadian fund managers are attracting more and more attention — and capital — to their funds,” said Rick Nathan, president of the CVCA and managing director of Kensington Capital Partners, in a news release.

“The dramatic growth in Canadian fundraising is part of a major trend in global capital markets which is increasingly focusing on the natural advantages of the private equity asset class. As more and more companies choose to go private, or to raise growth capital from private sources, the opportunities for private equity investors are building rapidly. It is very good news for Canada to see such a strong class of Canadian private equity funds emerging in 2006 — we need to develop strong Canadian investors for strong Canadian companies.”

When combined with other major private equity sectors, including venture capital and mezzanine funds, the total capital raised rose to $7.9 billion for the first nine months from $3.9 billion for all of 2005.