Bridgepoint has entered exclusive negotiations to buy Medica France, a French nursing home business, for €300m ($326m) in what would be a rare example of a privatisation.

Privatisation is almost non-existent as a source of buy-outs, accounting for just three deals out of 1,133 across the whole of Europe last year. Most Western European countries have completed the bulk of their privatisation programmes. A number of small privatisations continue to appear, however, and the disposal of Medica France by state-owned Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations is one such.