Bank Of America Launches Private Capital M&A Unit

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has launched a Private Capital M&A Group to help private equity firms offload companies more efficiently. The group, which is co-headed by Richard Peacock and Amanda Dupuy Ugarte, will work across BoFA's teams to assist private equity firms in monetizing their portfolio companies, Bloomberg reported. Peacock will also continue to lead the consumer and retail M&A and Dupuy Ugarte will continue working in global secondary advisory investment banking. The two will also work with Zeeshan Waris in EMEA and John Lin in Asia Pacific. Private equity firms are holding onto portfolio companies longer, citing geopolitical tensions and the current interest rate environment. Valuations have also not increased as expected Anthony Arnold, private equity co-chair at Barnes & Thornburg LLP told S&P in December. To increase valuations, firms are pursuing add-on acquisitions, organic business growth and are divesting in noncore operations, extending the holding period. “The interest rates have a lot to do with it. You can’t borrow as cheaply to fuel the growth, but it also reduces the demand. Cash flows are hurt a little bit when people are having to spend more money on interest rates,” Arnold said. "What we’re seeing still is a valuation mismatch between buyers and sellers,” Christopher Atkinson, co-chair for M&A and private equity at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP told S&P. “People were buying in 2019 to 2021 when interest rates were very different than where they are today. What we’re seeing are firms that are continuing to hold these assets and waiting for market improvement.” From the looks of it, private equity pros shouldn’t hold their breath. In 2025, private equity returns were reportedly low, with firms returning only 14% of the capital they managed—similar to levels seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis. In addition to interest rates, slower exit opportunities and underperformance in sectors like tech and real estate also contributed to the downturn. These challenges have made it harder for PE firms to generate strong returns for investors. As for Bank of America, the firm pledged $25 billion of its own funds towards private-credit investments, building on its current direct lending activities. The bank intends to source these transactions through its capital-markets unit, a division within its investment-banking arm, according to the Financial Times. Photo: Shutterstock