UK Financial Regulators Under New Pressure to Broaden Sources of Funding for LBOs
Britain's Financial Services Authority is coming under increased pressure to allow offshore investors - mainly private equity and hedge funds - access to publicly listed sources of funding. Buyout funds in the US have difficulty accessing funds through public stock exchanges, prompting them to seek abroad for new sources of cash to feed their unlimited appetites. Publicly traded private equity funds already control an estimated USD 80 billion, but are seeking yet more through expanding in loosely regulated financial markets as 2007 is tagged as the year of the 50 billion dollar deal.