MasterCard, the US credit card operator, yesterday acquired Orbiscom, an Irish payment technology company, in a $100m (£68.5m) deal that allowed its private equity owner to buck the trend of slowing realisations at buy-out groups.

Most investors in private equity groups have seen the return of cash from deals drying up amid the credit crunch. However, HG Capital, which bought a minority stake in Orbiscom in 2001, has made a string of profitable disposals.