(Reuters) -Leveraged buyouts are making a strong comeback after years of muted activity, fueled by private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds targeting high-profile technology, media and consumer companies.

The resurgence underscores cheap debt markets, abundant dry powder and a search for stable cash flows amid public market volatility, culminating in deals such as the proposed $55 billion takeover of Electronic Arts ( EA ) by Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners.

A leveraged buyout, or LBO, is a deal in which a company is acquired largely with borrowed money.

The following are the biggest leveraged buyouts on record:

Target Acquirer Deal Value Announced Post-LBO

($ billion) Date Status

Atlantia SpA Blackstone Inc $46.36 14-Apr-22 In 2023,

Edizione SpA Italy's

Atlantia

changed its

name to

Mundys as it

aimed to

become the

biggest

infrastructur

e group

globally

TXU Corp Kohlberg Kravis $43.80 26-Feb-07 Energy Future

Roberts & Co (IBO) Holdings,

Goldman Sachs formerly TXU

Capital Partners Corp, filed

Texas Pacific Group for

bankruptcy in

2014 after it

failed to

meet its debt

obligations

as

electricity

prices

weakened

HCA Inc Bain Capital LP $32.68 24-Jul-06 HCA became a

Kohlberg Kravis publicly

Roberts & Co traded

Merrill Lynch company in

Global Private 2010 for the

Equity Inc third time in

its history.

It now

commands a

nearly $100

billion

valuation

Medline Blackstone Inc $30 05-Jun-21 Years after

Industries Carlyle Group Inc its leveraged

Inc Hellman & Friedman buyout,

LLC Medline is

GIC Pte Ltd eyeing to go

public in New

York

ALLTEL Corp TPG Capital LP $27.87 21-May-07 Alltel was

Goldman Sachs absorbed by

Capital Partners Verizon,

which bought

the wireless

carrier for

$28.1 billion

in 2009

First Data Kohlberg Kravis $27.73 02-Apr-07 Relisted in

Corp Roberts & Co (IBO) 2015;

Acquired by

Fiserv in

2019 in a $22

billion

all-stock

deal

HJ Heinz Co Berkshire Hathaway $27.50 14-Feb-13 Merged with

Inc Kraft Foods

3G Capital Inc in 2015 to

form The

Kraft Heinz

Company.

Kraft Heinz

announced in

September

plans to undo

the merger,

after years

of dwindling

growth

Air Lease Sumitomo Corp $27.47 02-Sep-25 Deal expected

Corp Apollo Asset to close in

Management Inc first half of

Brookfield Asset 2026

Management Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui

Financial Group Inc

SMBC Aviation

Capital Ltd

Harrah's Apollo Management $27.40 02-Oct-06 Renamed to

Entertainment LP Caesars

Inc Texas Pacific Group Entertainment

in 2010;

relisted in

2012 and

continues to

trade on the

Nasdaq under

the ticker

CZR. Valued

at nearly

$5.62 billion

Hilton Hotels Blackstone Inc $25.80 03-Jul-07 Relisted in

Corp 2013 and

continues to

trade on NYSE

under the

ticker HLT.

Valued at

nearly $61.56

billion,

according to

LSEG data

SOURCE: Dealogic