AlpInvest Partners, Europe’s biggest private equity investor, has been sold to Carlyle Group and the AlpInvest management in a move that looks set to shake up Europe's buyout landscape.

Carlyle and AlpInvest announced today that they had entered into a joint venture, which separates the investor from its Dutch owners, the pension funds APG and PGGM. The companies did not disclose any purchase price. Financial News first reported at the beginning of December that Carlyle was "front runner" to buy AlpInvest.