US private equity house Texas Pacific Group is seeking debt financing for 85% of its acquisition of a US aluminium manufacturer. The high leverage ratio is the latest example of increasingly aggressive gearing by buyout firms.

Texas Pacific is seeking around $2.8bn (€1.5bn) of debt financing. Equity will make up the remaining 15% of the deal, which is worth around $3.3bn in total including the assumption of $1.6bn of Aleris' debt.