If you think it’s a tough time to sell a private equity business, spare a thought for sponsors trying to raise money to buy more.

As exits become tougher, so too has the search for investors. And it’s little wonder – the private equity types scouring Asia for their latest funds at the moment, including KKR , TPG , The Carlyle Group , CVC and Pacific Equity Partners , are trying to do so on the strength of the performance of their previous funds, which typically invested in businesses in the boom of 2007-2008. The returns, in other words, are not great.