THE LONDON private equity firm that currently employs ex-Tory MP Philip Hammond is preparing to takeover one of Britain's biggest civil engineering firms, Amey.

Buckthorn Partners, which took on Lord Hammond as a partner in 2020, has teamed up with US private equity firm One Equity Partners to acquire the outsourcing company that runs London's Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

The two private equity players have now entered a period of exclusive negotiations, during which they hope to finalise a £200m deal to buy Amey from Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial, according to Sky's Mark Kleinman.

The deal could now be sealed within a matter of weeks.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper