Candover Partners has raised its offer for UK-listed oilfield-technology company Expro International Group to more than £1.75bn (€2.2bn) in a bid to fend off a rival's interest and seal Europe’s second-biggest leveraged buyout since the credit crunch struck last summer.

Candover has had its £14.35 per share offer accepted by Expro, which gives the company a £1.6bn market capitalisation. This figure excludes net debt of £159.8m at the end of September that takes Expro’s enterprise value to about £1.75bn.