BirminghamPrivate equity lawyers are by nature a vociferous breed, a fact illustrated by the £4bn auction of the directory business of Telecom Italia earlier this month — which saw no less than five firms claiming credit for the key advisory role.

A consortium of UK private equity giants, BC Partners, CVC and Permira, and Italian fund Investitori Associati beat off competition from three rival consortium bids to take a 61.5% stake in Seat Pagine Gialle – Europe’s largest ever buy-out.