The fortunes of Iberian buyouts, especially in Spain, have mirrored those of its tennis star Rafael Nadal. Like Nadal’s rise to fame, his country’s economy experienced growth and prosperity in the years before the credit crunch.

This saw large buyouts, such as Permira, PAI Partners and CVC Capital Partners' acquisition of clothing retailer Cortefiel for €1.4bn ($2bn), and BC Partners and Cinven's €4.3bn buyout of Spanish travel-booking company Amadeus IT Group.