CVC Capital Partners, which until the summer held the record for the biggest buyout fund in Europe, plans to raise fresh capital to augment its dealmaking firepower. It aims to return to the top tier of buyout firms by launching another fund, a publicly listed vehicle, or both.

The firm is talking to investors about raising a bolt-on or side-car fund, according to sources. It has also contacted banks for the flotation mandate, which would follow the $5bn (€3.9bn) raised by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and $2bn from Apollo on Euronext Amsterdam-listed vehicles in the summer. CVC declined to comment. CVC's listing plans are at an early stage but progress with the side-car fund is understood to be more advanced. A side-car works by allowing any investments beyond a certain size to draw money from the bolt-on fund, allowing the company to write bigger equity cheques than its current fund allows. Rather than raise a new fund, which would have required a prospectus, CVC has sent an offering memo for the side-car fund to existing investors. It could prove particularly appealing to CVC's US investors because it would be priced in dollars. It would function alongside its most recent buyout fund, which had €6bn ($7.7bn) in commitments when it closed last year. A source close to CVC said it was concerned its position was under threat by the capital raised by its rivals since the fund's close last year. Another source said with equity cheques topping €1bn, a €6bn fund would not go far at the top end of the market. The fund CVC raised last year was 50% bigger than its closest European rival. But it was dwarfed when Permira held a first close of its latest fund at €10bn this year. Permira said it would cap the fund at €11bn. Cinven has also raised a €6.5bn fund, while Blackstone, Texas Pacific Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts have funds of about $15bn.