Deal size is no longer an obstacle for private equity firms in Europe. With multi-billion euro funds to invest and a ready supply of debt, they are setting their sights on ever-larger prey.
The scale of their ambition is clear in the bid being prepared by a consortium for Auna, a Spanish telecoms company, of €11bn ($14.9bn). The upper echelons of Europe's mergers and acquisitions market are no longer off limits to buy-out firms.