PAI The Old World awakens

London may be taking over from New York as the world’s leading financial centre, but not when it comes to raising serious private equity money. The five largest buyout funds from European firms, already raised and in fund-raising, come to E47bn, some 35% less than the comparable top five from US firms. Take PAI Partners, the leading French buyout firm. It is thought to be considering a target of E7.5bn for its latest pan-European fund. That is an ambitious target, almost three times the size of...