Out of the public eye

摘要

Since 1998, UK-quoted companies with a combined value of more than £37bn have been taken private, mostly funded by private equity firms. Famous names that have left the London Stock Exchange include Debenhams, Premier Foods and Manchester United. Private equity industry observers have been speculating as to whether any FTSE 100 companies are likely to follow suit. Last November, a consortium of the private equity industry's biggest hitters -Apax Partners, Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Permira and Providence Equity Partners - teamed up to make a $15.6bn (£8.9bn) recommended offer for TDC, Denmark's former telephone monopoly. By that measure, more than half the FTSE 100's constituents are now within range of private equity firms.