EUROPE - European Buyout Review shows 2006 record year for private equity

2006 was a record year for European buyouts with the total value of deals topping over EUR 160bn for the first time ever, according to the latest European Buyout Review due to be published in March 2007 by Incisive Media in association with Bridgepoint. The record value of buyouts has been driven by an increase in the number of EUR 1bn plus deals with over half the European buyout market by value resulting from these transactions. The overall value of EUR 1bn plus deals more than doubled from EUR 48.8bn in 2005 to over EUR 99.9bn in 2006 and the volume rose by 28% to 36 deals.