Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer, the US buyout firm, is targeting its first European investment since closing its second fund at $3.1bn (€2.4bn). One of the US companies it controls admitted it is interested in bidding for British Nuclear Group, the UK nuclear decommissioning business.

Lindsay Goldberg, which closed its fund in July and can invest 40% of the money in Europe, has just one European investment on its books after postponing the flotation of German equipment company Wacker Construction, in which it has a 30% stake, in summer.