Candover has ruled out any fire sales of portfolio companies after deciding to abort its €3bn ($4.5bn) fund in what is understood to the largest-ever buyout fund casualty.

The UK-based firm, which had been hoping to raise €5bn for the fund, announced this morning it is preparing to terminate the investment vehicle. This will effectively release all investors from all commitments, except for a nominal €100m, which will be used to support the fund's only investment in oil services group Expro International Group, which it acquired for €1.6bn last April.