Duke Street, a UK-based mid-market buyout firm, has agreed an innovative public-to-private acquisition of Europe’s largest consumer payments acceptance network, in a reversal of the expected wave of flotations of private equity-backed companies expected this year.

Duke Street will invest €45m ($61.7m) in alternative investment market-listed Payzone Group as part of a deleveraging of the payments company and will receive 69% of the equity of the ongoing businesses, Payzone (formerly known as Alphyra) and Cashzone (formerly known as Cardpoint).