For companies looking to do deals across the Atlantic, they may notice significantly less competition from private equity shops, as the financial crisis may have permanently altered that industry and how it conducts business, according to new research.

More than 70 percent of European private equity professionals think the repercussions of the credit crunch will be felt for years to come or even that the industry is changed forever, according to a survey of over 500 such executives conducted between November and January by Private Equity News. The figure is up from 45 percent last year and 13 percent two years ago.

"Making returns from financial wizardry is no longer an option, and the focus has to be on working with business to improve them fundamentally," Paul Marson-Smith, managing partner of U.K. mid-market buyout firm Gresham said in a report published on the survey Friday.

The main reason the business may have changed is because cheap debt isn't as readily available as it was a few years ago, limiting leverage as well as the size of deals.

Although it remains to be seen whether PE firms will actually curb their tendencies to reward themselves with dividend payments just by piling debt on companies once the availability of cheap financing returns, potential new regulations may force significant change in the business anyway.

For instance, President Obama has proposed restricting banks from operating private equity businesses, and there are signs British politicians may follow suit. The European Commission is also working on legislation that would impose higher taxes on private equity, which could have a profound effect.

Such changes will likely have the biggest impact on large buyouts. This is good news for CFOs not only since it might mean less competition for targets, but also because it's less likely large PE firms will take over their companies just because there's room to increase leverage and their stock is undervalued, as was the case a few years back.

Mid-market firms as well as venture capital may be less affected. Three quarters of respondents said they were preparing to increase activity in the mid-market this year. Additionally, respondents put alternative energy such as clean technology at the top of the list of sectors they expect to see more activity in. Both VC and mid-market PE are more heavily involved in developing such companies.