Brookfield Asset Management can triple the size of its private equity unit in the next five years, said Anuj Ranjan, the head of the business, in an interview with Bloomberg TV. 

Expansion will be driven by North America and Western Europe, while Brookfield is also excited about opportunities in the Middle East, Ranjan said in an interview at the SuperReturn 2024 conference in Berlin. The investment giant will continue to focus on the industrials and essential services sectors, he said.

While the deal environment is not as exuberant as it was in 2020 or 2021, “activity is back,” and “we have everything in place” for growth, said Ranjan, who was named chief executive of Brookfield’s private equity business earlier this year.

The Canadian investment firm’s private equity business has about US$129 billion in assets under management, according to its website. It raised $12 billion last year for its largest-ever buyout fund, and has been active in dealmaking, including multibillion-dollar deals for U.S. annuity provider American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. and Middle Eastern payments processor Network International Holdings Plc.

While the challenge of selling out of companies has been a hot topic for private equity firms, Ranjan said Brookfield has been able to make “quite a few” exits in the past 12 months — despite the tough environment. Still, he expects higher interest rates to persist for some time, meaning some exits in the industry — especially for lower quality businesses — will be tough.

Brookfield’s broader private equity business includes its flagship buyout strategy Brookfield Capital Partners, its special investments business that can do debt or equity deals and a secondaries business that the Toronto-based firm acquired last year from Deutsche Bank AG’s asset management unit. The business also includes the listed unit Brookfield Business Partners as well as some of the firm’s partnerships.