Two high-profile private equity-backed buyouts are facing critical restructuring talks this week, which market sources say could mark the start of a swathe of debt-for-equity swaps across the industry.

The two - German plastics maker Klöckner Pentaplast and UK waste management company Biffa - have a combined debt burden of £2bn and would be the largest restructuring since the £2.6bn debt-for-equity swap of gaming group Gala Coral in 2010 and the £3.4bn refinancing of music group EMI Group last year.