Betaville

REVEALED: KKR said to be vying with Carlyle to buy Dr Martens for over £300 million - sources

KKR, the US-listed private equity giant, has emerged as a surprise frontrunner to buy Dr Martens for over £300 million.

Sources familiar with the matter said KKR - the former owner of pharmacy giant Boots that was immortalised in the bestselling book Barbarians At The Gate - is vying with Carlyle, another Wall Street buy-out firm, to buy Dr Martens from Permira, a European investment firm...

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Where have all the "locusts" gone...?

"Locusts!" That's how the German establishment dubbed private equity firms looking for deals in the country a decade ago.

Wind on ten years and KKR - the American buy-out firm lionised in the seminal book Barbarians At The Gate - is backing a $8 billion leveraged buy-out of Axel Springer.

Yet, as far Betaville can see, none of the German establishment have objected to such a "locust" taking control of one Germany's largest media companies...

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