BC loses control of Dometic in equity deal with lenders to ease £1.1bn debt

BC Partners, the London-based private equity group, has lost control of Dometic, the Swedish caravans-fittings maker.

A debt-for-equity swap with Dometic's 25 main lenders is understood to have been finalised on Friday. BC failed in an attempt to keep hold of the company when it lost a vote in which it had trumpeted an alternative plan in tandem with a more junior lender, Intermediate Capital Group.

Dometic has been struggling under a €1.3bn (£1.1bn) debt burden. The main lenders include Sweden's Nordea Bank, which is believed to have voted in favour of the BC proposal, and Japan's Mizuho financial group. A market source said that BC had essentially broken even on Dometic, as it had made asset sales in recent years.

BC bought Dometic from rival private equity group EQT in 2005. With offices in Geneva and Milan as well as London, BC is one of Europe's best established private equity groups, with a 23-year history and 69 investments.