BC Partners has paid out €2.5bn to investors from its ninth flagship fund, after making its biggest exit with the €3.25bn sale of Antelliq, according to a person close to the situation.

The US-European buyout firm, which is headed by chair Raymond Svider, returned the cash from its BC European Fund IX, which closed in 2016, raising €7bn ($7.8bn). It has now sold out of half of its positions in the fund.