Britain's oldest private equity group is facing a possible creditor takeover at VNU Business Media Europe, the Dutch media business that it bought at the height of the buyout boom.

3i, which will present its interim management statement this morning, bought the business-to-business publisher for €320 million in late 2006, but VNU is believed to be close to breaking its banking covenants. Negotiations with banks are continuing but 3i will have to put fresh money into VNU or allow creditors to take it in a debt-for-equity swap, a source close to 3i conceded.

The cash-strapped private equity group had already ruled out putting in more money, a source close to VNU said, a claim that the fund denies. Sources close to 3i said that it would like to put money into VNU because it is a good business, although such a move has not yet been put to the fund's credit committee.

The VNU negotiations highlight a dilemma for 3i, which analysts say must either raise fresh money with a rights issue or sell some of its portfolio companies to raise money to invest.

Analysts expect 3i to comment on its portolio performance at today's interim management statement and to update the market on its future strategy. Some are concerned that 3i is over-indebted: it has £500 million of debt and £1 billion of capital calls that could fall in the next three years, against only £620 million of cash on the balance sheet.

The fund, which is chaired by Baroness Hogg and has been run by Philip Yea, chief executive, since 2004, may be forced into a rights issue, analysts at Morgan Stanley said.

SVG, a listed fund that invests almost exclusively in Permira, has already been forced to turn to shareholders for more cash.

Another City analyst suggested that 3i should sell some companies and be selective about putting money into existing businesses and buying new ones.

3i has hired Riverhill, a corporate finance adviser, to advise it on a debt restructuring of VNU Media, which owned a number of British business-to-business titles, including Accountancy Age and Computing, before it sold the UK business to Incisive Media in 2007. VNU, which owns recruitment websites on the Continent, has been hit by falls in advertising revenue and the need to move its titles from print to online. Last March, 3i said that its investment in VNU was worth £61million, but by September its value had fallen to less than £32 million.

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