Permira’s bad Betts

Permira, one Europe’s largest private equity firms, is set to lose tens of millions of pounds on its investment in toothpaste packager Betts, reports the Daily Telegraph. The buyout firm is close to agreeing to sell the business to smaller rival Gresham Private Equity for about £35m. A deal could be announced in the next few days. Permira bought Betts – then called Courtaulds packaging – from Akzo Nobel for £82m in 1998. Gresham has managed to secure £75m in debt finance from CIT Capital Finance to finance its acquisition