Regulators get tough on private equity

The private equity industry, which has seen fundraising and deal flows reach near-record levels this year, may soon be reined in by legal and regulatory pressure on both sides of the Atlantic.

The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) warned in a discussion paper released in November that the growing use of credit derivatives in leveraged buyout deals means a large-scale default could be a much more complex and serious event in the future, as tracing the reassigning of debt becomes more diffi