Private equity fund-raising showed no signs of slowing in the first quarter after a record 2006, according to The Private Equity Analyst, with the amount of capital raised easily surpassing year-earlier figures.

Private equity fund-raising showed no signs of slowing in the first quarter after a record 2006, according to The Private Equity Analyst, with the amount of capital raised easily surpassing year-earlier figures.

According to The Private Equity Analyst's database, 68 U.S.-focused PE funds raised $44.3 billion in the quarter, up 67% from the $26.6 billion raised by 46 funds in the same period a year ago.

Buyout firms again dominated the statistics, with 34 funds raising $35.2 billion, or some four-fifths of the total, well ahead of the $16.8 billion raised by 20 firms in the year-ago first quarter.

As has been true for some time, the dominance of the buyout category was attributable to a few mega funds. Venture capital firms raised less money than last year - $3.8 billion versus $4.4 billion. But 22 firms collected money, up from 17 last year, indicating the difference was primarily due to the absence of some of the larger venture funds that were in the market last year.

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