Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Buyout funds have the potential to purchase companies with a market value of $2 trillion this year, according to strategists at Credit Suisse Group.

Private-equity and infrastructure funds may have the means to purchase as much as 20 percent of all U.S. and European companies with market values under $30 billion, strategists at Switzerland's second-largest bank wrote in a report today. The forecast is based on the assumption that companies raise similar amounts of money as in 2006 and take on debt to finance purchases.

Private-equity companies raised $432 billion in 2006, according to London-based Private Equity Intelligence Inc.

``There is still a large amount of private-equity money to be invested,'' London-based strategists including Andrew Garthwaite wrote in the note. ``This is clearly bullish for equities.''

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, the world's largest maker of printing machines, and FMC Corp., a U.S. maker of specialty chemicals, are among companies that might appeal to the funds, the strategists added. They based their selection on companies' stock prices, cash flows, dividend yields and debt levels.

Record Pace

Takeovers climbed to a record $3.6 trillion in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, underpinning a four- year equity rally. U.S. deals last year accounted for 7.1 percent of the total value of the country's stock market, less than a peak of 15 percent since 1990, Credit Suisse wrote.

Private-equity funds, investment pools for the wealthy, have increasingly targeted bigger companies as they lure more money and search for bigger returns. Blackstone Group LP completed this month a $39-billion purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust in the biggest leveraged buyout ever.

Firms including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Apax Partners Worldwide LLP may help raise as much as $500 billion in private-equity funds this year, a 16 percent increase over last year's record, a survey by Private Equity Intelligence Ltd. showed last month.

``We have been very bullish on mergers and acquisitions and private-equity activity for the past 1 1/2 years,'' wrote Garthwaite, who was not immediately available to comment on the strategy note. ``Conditions are near perfect for this to continue.''

Jonathan Morton, Robert Jukes, Chris Mellor, Jonathan White and Marina Pronina also contributed to the report.

Compass, Laidlaw

Companies are also on a buying spree. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain's second-biggest bank, agreed this week to buy Compass Bancshares Inc. for $9.6 billion. Earlier this month, Britain's FirstGroup Plc bought Laidlaw International Inc., owner of the largest U.S. school-bus company and the Greyhound bus service, for $3.6 billion.

HMV Group Plc, the U.K. operator of music stores; Gestevision Telecinco SA, owner of Spain's most-watched television; Precision Drilling Trust, Canada's largest oilfield contractor; and Mobistar SA, Belgium's second-largest mobile- phone company, were also included Credit Suisse's list of possible takeover targets.

Credit Suisse included two Greek companies as likely takeover targets: Opap SA, the world's third-largest publicly traded gambling company, and Aluminum of Greece SA, that country's largest producer of the material.

To contact the reporter for this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 20, 2007 13:11 EST