Toby Lewis

The UK investment firm has carried out the second AIM take-private this year as European mid-market buyout firms continue investing.

The French investment firm could have profited even further were it not for hedging costs relating to its stake-building in Saint Gobain, which has dropped in value by nearly 30 percent.

The banks have vowed to 'vigourously' fight the lawsuits, while a Texas judge has issued a temporary restraining order compelling them to fund the take-private bid.

The buyout boom reached a European deal volume record for the year fuelled by unprecedented amounts of leverage before the credit market problems ended the party.

The FTSE 100 company, led by Philip Yea, remains confident that despite difficult market conditions, which may slow down its mid-market buyout business, its recently expanded growth capital team will be sheltered from the credit storm.

A consortium of three companies has invested to build a plant to produce the main raw material used in solar power plants as private equity firms continue to invest in alternative energy in the Middle East.

The private equity arm of the US bank has sold its remaining stake in the UK retail company, which has declined in value on the public markets, despite being the most lucrative UK buyout ever at the time of flotation.

The ongoing deterioration of the worldwide credit markets has led to the prospect of some private equity-owned companies becoming worth less than the value owed to creditors.

The deal provides a partial exit for rival European buyout firm Cinven, valuing the two cable companies at more than double the cost of the buy and build strategy which formed them over three years.

The sovereign wealth funds of the two Middle Eastern countries have teamed up to launch a joint fund, allowing the UAE’s International Petroleum Investment Company to broaden its scope away from the energy sector.