October 13, 2007 (LPAC)--A wave of insolvencies is going to hit German industrial firms as a consequence of private-equity takeovers going bust, the German financial daily Handelsblatt reported yesterday. According to Alix-partners, a consulting firm specializing in restructuring distressed companies, the volume of distressed debt from such takeovers in Germany is now about 400 billion Euros ($560 billion). The insolvency wave is already hitting the automotive and machine tools sectors. The private equity fund Permira was recently forced to sell the auto parts firm Kiekert to the hedge funds, which began liquidating it. Other examples include TMD Friction and Treofan. Now the wave will expand to all branches of German industry, Handelsblatt says.