EQT AB Shares Fall as Exits Hit Five-Year Low, Profit Growth Undercut

Shares of Stockholm-listed private equity firm EQT AB fell after its half-year earnings report revealed continued difficulties in exiting deals. The company is looking to take advantage of an improving mergers and acquisition market to monetize assets and return capital to investors. Despite these efforts, private equity exits are pacing for a five-year low after a slow first half of the year. This decline in dealmaking has undercut profit growth for EQT AB, one of Europe's largest buyout firms. The situation carries a warning for buyout-firm investors, as headwinds selling businesses persist.