So far this year, Germany is rivalling the UK as the biggest market for buyout deals in Europe, new figures from Bain & Company show. At the current pace, the total value of deals in Europe's biggest economy will come close to $25bn in 2019, up from just over $14bn last year, according to Dealogic.

"The dark history of the locusts and the reputation that private equity had in the country has changed," said Rolf-Magnus Weddigen, a partner with Bain & Company's German private equity practice. "Private equity groups have been successful in growing businesses and creating jobs rather than cutting them."