Leveraged buy-outs are growing in Europe, and so are doubtful debts. INEOS is not yet a household name. The British bulk-chemicals producer was formed only eight years ago and the New Forest, its base in southern England, is better known for ponies than for petrochemicals. But when INEOS tapped the debt markets last month to finance a ?9 billion ($10.8 billion) takeover of some of BP's chemical assets, it found no shortage of interest. According to one person who worked on what proved to be one of Europe's largest-ever leveraged deals, creditors had within weeks offered ?25 billion, almost three times what INEOS needed.
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