Although there has been a downward trend in activity over the past year, the consumer discretionary sector has continued to attract interest from investors, making up 22% of all transactions in 2015. A private equity sector focus of particular interest over the past few years has been online retail, education services such as tertiary education and colleges, as well as advertising and publishing houses.

The financials sector remains a large portion of transaction activity in 2015, making up 16% of total transactions. Points of interest range from regional banking to asset management and financial services across all regions.

And finally, information technology remains popular on the continent, primarily in the internet software and services industries.

Source: RisCura, S & P Capital IQ