Frozen food retailer Picard Surgeles has been acquired by private equity firm Lion Capital from BC Partners for €1.52bn (£1.27bn). The completion of the deal follows approval by the European regulatory authorities at the beginning of the month. The takeover price included €590m (£494m) in cash, while the remaining funding was raised with a credit facility and bond issue, French daily Le Figaro reported. Picard operates 820 stores and generated sales of more than €1.1bn (£981m) last year.