UPDATE: Voting for the PEI Awards 2021 will close at 11:59pm Pacific Time on Wednesday 12 January 2022.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the PEI Awards, the only honours in the industry decided solely by those in the industry, who vote in their thousands.
From 18 Europe-focused categories, our annual awards have grown to 72 categories across all geographies and strategies, and have built an unrivalled reputation for recognising the industry’s greatest achievements.
The pandemic continues to cast a shadow over the industry, yet 2021 is already poised to become one of the biggest years in its history.
This year we’re getting the ball rolling by asking for your help. Click HERE to remind us of your firm’s achievements over the past 12 months – the deadline is Tuesday, 16 November, 2021.
The shortlists are drawn up in November by our global editorial team, which canvasses the views of colleagues and contacts in the market to find out which firms, funds and deals stood out during the year.
These reminders are, of course, no guarantee of success – but they help to ensure we have a fully rounded picture as we begin the process of deciding who will appear on our shortlists.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need to submit information?
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, 16 November, 2021.
How much information should I submit?
We would always advise being as brief as possible. Four bullet points, including relevant data, is more valuable than three sides of text.
What information is useful?
This is an annual awards process, so information relating to your organisation’s activity over the past 12 months – from 1 November 2020 to end October 2021 – is key. Think about useful metrics: if you are a placement agent or a fund formation lawyer, how many funds have you advised and how much capital was raised? Which GPs or LPs have you worked with? If you are a GP, how active have you been in terms of exits and investments, what returns have exits generated and have you had some fundraising success?
Avoid unsupported general statements (“we have had another busy year/we are a leading firm”).
Brief and to the point is probably the best piece of advice we can offer. That means a maximum of 500 words per category you are submitting. We also require you to send us individual submissions for each category. Finally, all submissions need to be sent in PDF format.
Where do I submit?
Can I submit confidential information?
You can; please mark it as strictly confidential. It will then be taken into consideration and not published.
What are the categories?
Please see the full list below. Please note all secondaries awards are grouped together under their own section.
What goes into the categories?
It probably goes without saying that all award nominations are inherently subjective. Our choices take into account a mixture of qualitative and quantitative criteria, including non-financial considerations, when selecting what goes into each category. We are looking for evidence of how active, but also how innovative, a firm has been. To use a deal example, we don’t just nominate the biggest deals of the year – though these may well feature – we also look for transactions that are unique in some fashion.
Our award categories are generally organised by region and strategy. We believe these labels are mostly self-explanatory, but don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to learn more about what comprises each.
Here are some pointers based on the broad categories:
Firm of the Year: This category tries to capture everything of note a manager has done over the preceding 12 months. This includes deals, both on the buy-side and sell-side; funds raised or being raised; and other noteworthy initiatives. We privilege all activities that have closed or reached a conclusion within the 12-month period we are examining, but, unlike in other categories, we will consider initiatives, fundraisings and deals that have started, but not yet concluded.
Fundraise of the Year: In this category, we are only looking at fundraising processes which have reached a final close within the 12-month period under consideration. Fundraisings that have started or are still underway will not be considered. Regional fundraisings will consider whether a fund will invest a significant portion of its capital in the region for which it is being nominated, as well as its ability to attract LPs from that region. Global fundraisings will measure a fund’s ability to invest and attract LPs from across the globe.
Deal of the Year: At the project and M&A level, only deals that have achieved financial close will be considered – we will not consider deals in any other stage of the process. Commitments to platforms are trickier, since we understand that not all of the funds raised or announced will be disbursed in the 12-month period under consideration. However, we feel the time of announcement should determine eligibility, taking into account that disbursements will take place over many years and we won’t necessarily have visibility into yearly disbursements.
Exit of the Year: The award will be assessed in context of type of exit – either through acquisition, IPO, management buyout, or through the secondary market – the value added to the portfolio company, as well as financial success. Partial exits within the 12-month period will be considered.
Can I submit multiple entries?
Yes. Please create a separate entry for each category entered. If the information supplied is applicable to two or more categories, then please duplicate the same entry.
How do you draw up your shortlists?
Our shortlists are up based on two main factors: submissions from the industry, which we call for every year; and the editorial team’s expertise, drawn from our coverage and conversations with sources.
The end of our call for submissions is the hard deadline to consider eligible entries. That means that if a deal or a fund closes after our call for submissions deadline, it will not be eligible for that year’s PEI Awards.
The shortlist are independently compiled and nominated by our editorial team – we don’t rely on judges’ panels.
When will I find out if we are shortlisted?
The voting will open in early December, at which point you can see who has been short-listed in each category. Please visit www.privateequityinternational.com to check.
How are the winners decided?
The winners are decided by your votes, not by PEI editorial staff.
What are the key dates?
- Tuesday, 2 November: call for submissions
- Tuesday, 16 November: deadline for submissions
- Mid December: voting begins
- Wednesday, 12 January 2022: voting ends
- 1 March, 2022: award winners and runners up announced
The categories in full:
GLOBAL
- Energy private equity firm of the year
- Healthcare private equity firm of the year
- Growth equity firm of the year
- Technology private equity firm of the year
- Consumer private equity firm of the year
- Long-term private equity firm of the year
- Frontier markets firm of the year
- Impact investment firm of the year
EMEA
- Large-cap firm of the year in Europe
- Mid-market firm of the year in Europe
- Limited partner of the year in Europe
- Deal of the year in Europe
- Exit of the year in Europe
- Fundraise of the year (EMEA)
- Firm of the year in Africa
- Firm of the year in Benelux
- Firm of the year in CEE
- Firm of the year in France
- Firm of the year in Germany
- Firm of the year in Iberia
- Firm of the year in Italy
- Firm of the year in MENA
- Firm of the year in the Nordics
- Firm of the year in Switzerland
- Firm of the year in the UK
- Fund of funds manager of the year in Europe
- Placement agent of the year in Europe
- Law firm of the year in Europe (fund formation)
- Law firm of the year in Europe (transactions)
- Lender of the year in Europe
AMERICAS
- Large-cap firm of the year in North America
- Mid-market firm of the year in North America
- Limited partner of the year in North America
- Deal of the year in North America
- Exit of the year in North America
- Fundraise of the year (Americas)
- Distressed debt investor of the year in North America
- Firm of the year in Canada
- Firm of the year in Latin America
- Fund of funds manager of the year in North America
- Placement agent of the year in North America
- Law firm of the year in North America (fund formation)
- Law firm of the year in North America (transactions)
- Lender of the year in North America
ASIA-PACIFIC
- Large-cap firm of the year in Asia
- Mid-market firm of the year in Asia
- Limited partner of the year in Asia
- Deal of the year in Asia
- Exit of the year in Asia
- Fundraise of the year (Asia-Pacific)
- Firm of the year in Australasia
- Firm of the year in China
- Firm of the year in Japan
- Firm of the year in Korea
- Firm of the year in India
- Firm of the year in Southeast Asia
- Fund of funds manager of the year in Asia
- Placement agent of the year in Asia
- Law firm of the year in Asia (fund formation)
- Law firm of the year in Asia (transactions)
SECONDARIES
- Secondaries deal of the year in Europe
- Secondaries firm of the year in Europe
- Secondaries adviser of the year in Europe
- Secondaries law firm of the year in Europe
- Secondaries deal of the year in the Americas
- Secondaries firm of the year in the Americas
- Secondaries adviser of the year in the Americas
- Secondaries law firm of the year in North America
- Secondaries deal of the year in Asia
- Secondaries firm of the year in Asia
- Secondaries adviser of the year in Asia
- Secondaries law firm of the year in Asia
CLICK HERE to access the submission form.
