A bumper start to the year had the US private equity sector optimistic that the good times had returned, but fears that the Federal Reserve might start tapering its quantitative easing programme tapering contributed to a dramatic decline in activity in the second quarter, which made it the quietest three months since the nadir of the financial crisis in 2009.

There were 123 buyouts between April and the end of June worth a total of $20.1bn, according to data provider Dealogic. This was a 31% decline in the number of deals from the previous quarter and a 68% decline in deal value. The last time there was so few deals was in the third quarter of 2009. By comparison, European buyouts increased in the second quarter.