Apax Partners, the UK-based private equity group, is in exclusive talks to buy 30.6 per cent of Nova Ljubljanska Banca (NLB), Slovenia’s biggest bank, from Belgium’s KBC after Blackstone pulled out of the €900m ($1.3bn) auction.

The talks underline how private equity is becoming increasingly active in the financial services sector, as the credit crunch throws up investment opportunities and cash-strapped banks find themselves unable to compete.