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Private equity funds overhang nudges €50bn

European private equity firms are sitting on a record cash pile of up to €49bn ($60bn), which is increasing the pressure on them to invest or return the cash.

The firms usually finance buy-out deals with one-third equity and two-thirds debt, so the cumulative overhang means Europe's firms have €150bn to play with, according to figures from Thomson Venture Economics and SVG Capital, a UK fund manager.

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