State No. 17 in private equity investing

Connecticut ranked 17th among the 50 states in private-equity investments last year, according to a new report.

The Private Equity Growth Capital Council said in an analysis released Wednesday that firms provided $2.9 billion in private-equity investments to 31 Connecticut-based companies in 2011. The state's 4th Congressional District alone accounted for $2.6 billion in such investments, or 13th nationally.

Texas, New York, California, North Carolina and Oklahoma were the top five states in terms of private-equity investing last year. But private-equity investments in Connecticut rivaled countries such as Mexico and the Netherlands and supassed nations such as Belgium and Brazil.