PAI Partners is lining up an electrical services provider as its fifth sale under the management team that took control of the French buyout firm in 2009. The new leaders remain under pressure to prove they can deliver returns before embarking on a new round of fundraising.

French electric services group Spie is expected to be next on the block, according to one investor in PAI, while a source close to the situation said the company was "constantly getting approaches". PAI bought Spie for €980m in 2006, according to the buyout group's website.