Private equity

US buy-out giant The Blackstone Group has announced that it has closed its new global private equity fund, Blackstone Capital Partners V, on a record-breaking $21.7billion. WOW. And this will be invested across various sectors and geographical locations. The most recent tech buy-out is the $17.6 billion purchase of Freescale Semiconductor in 2006. $84 billion - that's the total enterprise value already committed across sectors. To get a snapshot of the big private equity players at the moment, check Businessweek.