 According to an updated 2008 ranking created by industry magazine Private Equity International (The PEI 50), the largest private equity firms include The Carlyle Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Group, The Blackstone Group, Bain Capital, Sycamore Partners and TPG Capital.These firms are typically direct investors in companies rather than investors in the private equity asset class and for the most part the largest private equity investment firms focused primarily on leveraged buyouts rather than venture capital.Preqin ltd (formerly known as Private Equity Intelligence), an independent data provider, provides a ranking of the 25 largest private equity investment managers.