A private equity buyout or the assumption of a controlling interest in a company that involves several different private equity firms. This group of firms pools its assets together and makes the acquisition collectively. The practice has historically allowed private equity to purchase much more expensive companies together than they could alone. Also, with each company taking a smaller position, risk can be reduced.

While club deals have grown in popularity in recent years, there are many issues that can arise related to regulatory practices, conflicts of interest and market-cornering. For example, there are concerns that club deals decrease the amount of money that shareholders receive, as a group of private equity firms has fewer parties to bid against.

There are some private-equity firms that do not engage in club deals as a rule, but the choice is up to the firm and the wishes of the limited partners who make most of the big money decisions within those firms. As with many large private equity deals, the main objective is to fix up and then dress up the acquisition for future sale to the public.