Eva Martorell

?Chart of the Week: ?Ten largest PE-backed M&A exits in H1 2014

In the first half of 2014, 295 M&A exits were completed by U.S.-based financial sponsors, with a total disclosed value of more than $52 billion.

?Chart of the Week: Which sectors take the longest/shortest to exit from?

So far in 2014, of the 194 buyout M&A exits by U.S.-based financial sponsors that Thomson One identified, portfolio companies in the utilities sector are the quickest to reach an exit, in 3.7 years on average.

?Chart of the Week: Equity contributions fall in U.S. leveraged buyouts

The proportion of equity used to finance U.S. leveraged buyouts fell by 6 percentage points, from the 44 percent recorded in the last quarter of 2013 to 38 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

Venture-backed M&A skyrockets

Large acquisitions of venture-backed Nest Labs and Air Watch pushed the M&A totals in February