GERMANY - 2006 LBO market off to sluggish start, says LEK

The latest edition of the LEK Private Equity newsletter, written by Dr Paul Jowett, records that 2005 finished only marginally above 2004 in terms of dealflow, while the number of transactions closed during the year actually dropped. There are currently a large number of deals notionally 'in progress', although many of these will simply fade away, the report continues. The most common reason why many deals fail to complete in recent months appears to be the target’s failure to meet plan, and the vendor’s unwillingness to reduce the price accordingly.