Cash-rich financiers, including Warren Buffett, Wilbur Ross and Ron Perelman, are preparing to pounce on US companies hit by the financial turmoil - moves that could herald a new era of "vulture investing".

After years pushed to the sidelines by high valuations and fierce competition from private equity, so-called "value" investors believe the financial and capital market crisis now offers a great opportunity to buy companies at bargain prices.