A group of 13 US private equity firms has won a crucial legal battle in its attempts to avoid lawsuits over alleged collusion in large buyouts or so-called "club deals".

Gary Kubek, a litigation partner for US-based law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, said the plaintiffs in the case Murphy versus Kohlberg Kravis Roberts et al, filed in the Southern District of New York in November had been dismissed without prejudice.