PAI Partners has secured one of France's biggest private equity-backed exits since 2008 with the sale of an engineering company - a deal that also means the firm has returned about €3bn to investors over the past year.

Paris-based PAI has agreed to sell Spie for €2.1bn to a consortium comprising buyout firms Axa Private Equity, Clayton Dubilier & Rice and asset manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, according to a statement.