Goldman Sachs has pulled off a much sought-after investment banking treble by providing Apax with mergers and acquisitions advice, debt and private equity in support of the buy-out firm's acquisition of Frans Bonhomme for €520m ($600m).

This degree of involvement maximises an investment bank's fees and potential financial gains from a deal. It happens rarely, but this is the second time in six months that Goldman Sachs has managed it. Earlier this year it supported Apax and Providence in the €2.3bn acquisition of Deutsche Telekom's cable television assets.