How to keep the barbarians at bay

The recent attempted buyout of Sainsbury's showed that no one is safe from the clutches of private equity; cash-rich houses are now clubbing together in joint bids to target even the largest names. Matthew Attwood explains the consequences for credit quality, and what investors can do to protect themselves

The $20 billion buyout of Sainsbury's that faltered in April would have been Europe's largest, outstripping the current record-holder, last year's $15 billion purchase of Dutch telecom group TDC by a consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and The Blackstone Group. While the combined might of CVC Capital Partners, KKR, TPG Capital and Blackstone proved no match for the Sainsbury family's commitment to the brand bearing its name, the failed bid demonstrates private equity's purchasing

Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.

To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.

Sorry, our subscription options are not loading right now

Please try again later. Get in touch with our customer services team if this issue persists.

New to Risk.net? View our subscription options

The future of life insurance

As the world constantly evolves and changes, so too does the life insurance industry, which is preparing for a multitude of challenges, particularly in three areas: interest rates, regulatory mandates and technology (software, underwriting tools and…

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have a Risk.net account, please register for a trial.

Sign in
You are currently on corporate access.

To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in.

Sign in.

Alternatively you can request an individual account here