A pair of private equity deals involving UK companies with significant pension scheme deficits was the hot topic of conversation in the UK pensions industry last week.

The chatter follows this month's acquisition of Silentnight, a UK bedmaker, by buyout firm HIG Europe, and last month's buyout by Sun European Partners of Polestar, the publisher of Hello! magazine. Both buyout firms became shareholders through debt-for-equity swaps arranged immediately after they had put the companies into administration - a technique called a pre-pack insolvency arrangement.