CDT Roundup: 18 Deals, 14 Law Firms, 92 Lawyers, $7.28B

With the beginning of every new year comes a new round of data showing how dealmaking fared in the previous year – and projections of what’s to come.

Preqin did its data dump on Jan. 7, releasing figures on everything from buyouts to venture capital activity to private equity fundraising. Among the highlights: That 2018 was the most active year ever recorded for private equity-backed buyout deals, with 5,106 acquisitions (the fifth consecutive year in which the number of deals exceeded 4,000) and the second-highest deal value ($456 billion) since the global financial crisis in 2006-2007 ($700 billion was lodged in 2007).