Goldman CFO Says Private Equity Deal Boom Is Finally Happening

The frozen pipelines of private equity dealmaking are starting to thaw, according to one of Wall Street’s top finance chiefs.

“This is what I feel like I’ve been talking about for a number of quarters — maybe even years,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Financial Officer Denis Coleman said Tuesday. “I think it’s fair to say it’s now happening.”

Sponsor-led activity is finally picking up across the industry, with announced deal volumes up 40% this year, Coleman said at a financial-services conference hosted by his bank in New York.

Private equity firms have been facing pressure from high borrowing costs, ...