The Carlyle Group, the US private equity group, has completed the buyout of Saprogal Group, an animal nutritions firm, from ConAgra Foods, providing further evidence that the Spanish private equity market is picking up.

Carlyle, whose Europe Partners II fund is currently raising €2bn, declined to comment on price, but typically invests between €200m to €500m. Saprogal has sales of more than €250m ($305.4m) in Spain and Portugal.