European large buy-out firms have proven more than a match for their US counterparts when it comes to European investments, according to Johannes Huth, a member of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), the private equity firm.

Speaking to 900 delegates in Vienna at the annual symposium of the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, Huth said: "I expect one or two US large buy-out firms to retreat from Europe over the next couple of years."