Awash with capital to spend, firms carried out European buyouts worth $101.6 billion last year, the highest level since the boom era in 2007. But the deals rush is pushing up the valuations of the companies on offer to higher than even in 2007.

Last year, average European buyout purchase prices as multiples of earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to 9.6 times from 8.1 times in 2013, according to S&P Capital IQ LCD. In the first half of this year the average was 9.3-times ebitda - the same as in 2007.