TABLE OF CONTENTS April 2007

Broadcasters and Consumers Urge Rejection of XM-Sirius Deal

The National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumers Union plan to issue a formal statement to the FCC urging that the agency reject the proposed satellite radio company merger. The groups say the merger would lead to higher prices, contrary to the companies' claims. > read more

Home Equity : Southern Comforts

The South rises again in Atlanta’s exclusive Buckhead section, in the form of a spate of luxury properties. > read more

Terra Firma Ripping Meat From KKR’s Maw

It’s a heady tale of board room deliberations, late-night scheming, wild stock market moves and ambushing marauders. Stay tuned for the next plot twist. > read more

H&R Block to Sell Its Subprime Mortgage Group

H&R Block is selling its money-losing subprime mortgage unit to Cerberus Capital Management for about 40 percent less than it was originally seeking. > read more

China Citic May Raise $5.7B in IPO

China Citic Bank Corp may raise as much as $5.7 billion in a simultaneous Hong Kong and Shanghai initial public offering, the world's largest stock sale so far this year, three people with knowledge of the details said. > read more

Barclays to Buy ABN Amro for $91 Billion

ABN Amro and Barclays announced a merger agreement, worth more than $91 billion, that would create the world's largest institutional asset manager. > read more

Goldman to Acquire Myers Industries for $794 Million

Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire tire and wheel industry tool distributor Myers Industries for approximately $794 million. > read more

Coke in Talks with Glacéau

Coca-Cola is in talks to acquire or buy a stake in flavored bottled water company Glacéau to expand its non-soda offerings. > read more

Harman Agrees to $8 Billion Buyout

Harman International Industries, a manufacturer of audio products and electronic systems for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, has agreed to a private equity buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs in a deal worth approximately $8 billion. > read more

Detroit: Money City

Detroit is known as the "Motor City," but take a closer look, and you'll see why "Money City" might be a more appropriate name. More and more, the auto industry - heavily based in Detroit - is being gobbled up by private equity firms. > read more

AstraZeneca's Big Biotech Buy

Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca has agreed to buy U.S. biotech company MedImmune for more than $15 billion in an effort to boost the company's weak portfolio of developmental drugs and enter the market for vaccines. > read more

Banks Jockey For Piece Of Alliance Boots Deal

Hands is getting more firepower from financial institutions than he arguably needs. But KKR has the inside man. > read more

Merrill Lynch Invests in Asia

Merrill Lynch is planning to buy a $2.9 billion stake in Resona Holdings, Japan's fourth-largest bank by revenue. > read more

Clear Channel Plans $1.2 Billion Television Group Sale

Amid concerns that its shareholders could reject an approximately $19.5 billion private equity buyout, Clear Channel Communications says it will sell its television group to Providence Equity Partners Inc. for about $1.2 billion. > read more

ACS's Chairman, Cerberus Sweeten Their Bid

Affiliated Computer Services Inc.'s chairman, Darwin Deason, and his investment partner, Cerberus Capital Management, raised their offer to buy the company in a deal worth about $6.2 billion, or $62 a share. > read more

Under Pressure, Wendy's Explores Sale

Wendy's, the third-largest hamburger chain in the U.S., is up for sale. > read more

Phone (Price) Tag

Spain's Telefonica, in concert with a group of Italian bankers, will buy an 18% stake in Telecom Italia. This will make Telefonica the largest shareholder of the company. > read more

First Data Payout

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts says it will buy First Data, the world's largest credit card payment processor for approximately $29 billion. > read more

Two More Firms Vying for Thomson's Higher Education Group

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Carlyle Group are joining a list of suitors seeking to pair with the higher education publishing arm of education and information provider Thomson Corp. > read more

Oracle Seeks Direction from Lodestar

Software developer Oracle has agreed to acquire Lodestar for an undisclosed sum, adding to its existing applications suite for utilities management. > read more

Rumors Swirl Anew Over I-Banker Bonuses

It’s that time of year again. Already. > read more

Mega Funds Remain Dominant In Robust 1Q Fund-Raising

Private equity fund-raising showed no signs of slowing in the first quarter after a record 2006, according to The Private Equity Analyst, with the amount of capital raised easily surpassing year-earlier figures. > read more

Genesis Health Gets Higher Buyout Bid

Genesis Health, a company that owns and operates long-term care facilities, has received a buyout offer from Fillmore Capital Partners exceeding a previous bid from two private equity firms. > read more

So Happy Together

Do you love hedge funds? Do you love private equity? Do you ever wish you could have the both of them like peanut butter and jelly? > read more

Applebee's Receives Preliminary Takeover Offers

After pressure from activist investors to increase shareholder value, Applebee's International said it's received several preliminary takeover proposals. > read more

Street Gossip on Citi Bid for Deutsche Bank

Rumors were milling about a possible Citigroup bid for Deutsche Bank, boosting the American banking giant's shares with its highest increase since last July. > read more

Delphi Talks: Cerberus Heads For Exit, Tablecloth In Belt

Appaloosa’s response? Good riddance. Er...on second thought, could you find a replacement for that $1.7 billion you fronted? We don’t need you, but we still need that. > read more

Sifting Through The Big Money Survey

Have you had a chance to read Barron's Big Money Survey? If not, SeekingAlpha has gone through and highlighted some important and interesting points. > read more

Interpool Supports Buyout by Fortress

Transportation equipment company Interpool has agreed to be bought by Fortress Investment Group related private equity funds in a deal worth about $2.4 billion. > read more

Unibail To Buy Rodamco for Nearly $15B

Rodamco Europe said Tuesday it has agreed to be bought by French rival Unibail Holding for about $14.8 billion in stock, sending shares of the Dutch real-estate group higher. > read more

Rumors Run Rampant on Bristol-Myers Sale

Interim Chief Executive Officer James Cornelius has been locked into position at Bristol-Myers Squibb until 2009, fueling speculation he is preparing to sell the drugmaker. > read more

Motorola to Boost Video Technology with Terayon Acquisition

Motorola, the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, says it will buy Terayon Communication Systems for about $140 million in a move to amp up its video technology. > read more

Alcatel-Lucent Merger Hits Sales

Alcatel-Lucent says its merger took a toll on sales and margins, and warned that it could report steeper-than-expected drop in first-quarter sales. > read more

Jarden Expands its Outdoors Business

Small appliance and consumer goods company Jarden is buying K2, the maker of K2 skis and Rawlings baseballs, for $765 million in a move to expand its outdoor products line. > read more

Hot Commodities: CME on Hold While CBOT Hears Out Intercontinental

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has postponed its shareholder meeting scheduled for today to vote on a merger agreement with the Chicago Board of Trade following CBOT's review of an unsolicited merger from the Intercontinental Exchange. The rescheduled date was not announced. > read more

Bad News For People Who Love Bad News

Well, it turns out that the legislation that everyone loves to hate - the Sarbanes-Oxley Act - is pretty harmless after all. At least, that's what a study performed and published by the Wall Street Journal has to say about it. > read more

OSI Restaurant Buyout Could Be Best Course for Stockholders

Despite opposition from mutual funds and some big stakeholders, Institutional Shareholder Services, a Proxy vote advisor, recommended the approval of a private equity buyout of OSI Restaurant for $3.2 billion. > read more

Covansys to Be Sold for $1.3 Billion

Information technology company Covansys has agreed to a $1.3 billion takeover by Computer Sciences Corp. > read more

Private Equity Firm Crestview to Buy Out Symbion Surgery Centers

Health care company Symbion has agreed to a private equity buyout for about $486 million. > read more

Speculation Surrounding Sirius, XM Merger Sinks Stocks

The chance of the planned merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio actually being executed is lower than the 35% to 40%, according to one analyst. > read more

Psst! How Little Guys Get In On The Big Buyouts

Surprise, surprise, the first step is to get nice and cozy with heavy-hitters... > read more

Foot Locker Wants Hat Business at Genesco

Foot Locker, the largest athletic shoes and apparel retailer, has offered to buy rival Genesco for $1.2 billion. > read more

For the Experience

Forget buying and maintaining luxury homes, yachts and exotic cars. There's a growing trend in "fractional ownership," which is sweeping the high end market as experience takes the lead over ownership in importance to luxury consumers. > read more

DaimlerChrysler’s Own Workers Mull Huge Stake Buy

Employer cutting your salary/benefits? Quitting is sooo 20th century. Just buy him out. > read more

The Space Ship of Toilets

The bathroom has morphed from a utilitarian space to a place of refuge, and in the luxury bathroom world, there are plenty of high-end toilets for your personal haven. > read more

Home on the Strip

Amid wide expansions and new hotels being built on the Las Vegas Strip, real estate developers are also spending billions of dollars building condo towers on or near the Strip, adding thousands of units despite a local and national downturn in the real estate market. > read more

High-End Homes

Despite the mortgage mess and housing crisis, high-end home buyers are still looking for amazing amenities. > read more

Nasdaq Explores its Options in Philly

The Nasdaq Stock Market is in talks to buy the Philadelphia Stock Exchange in a move to break into the options-trading business and gain a sizeable chunk of the market. > read more

Potential Riches Still Attractive (Surprised?)

Joseph Nacchio was recently convicted of 19 counts of insider trading. He could see a decade in jail. Granted, having stock options and also knowing what's going to be happening with the company of which you are the chief executive might make for some interesting philosophical and ethical discussions with yourself. However, the idea that executives would be turned off by stock options seems a bit outlandish to us. > read more

Dubai: Going Underwater for Real Estate

With high-speed Internet, boardrooms, bedrooms and full bathrooms, Boeing Business Jets give the term "mobile office" new meaning. > read more

Luxury Summer Camps

Considering camp for your kid this summer? Sure you've made a killing in hedge funds and trading, but that doesn't mean junior shouldn't rough it. And by rough it, we mean doing things most of the country dreams about. > read more

Packer, Macquarie Bid US$1.2B for Canada Casinos

James Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd, Australia's biggest casino owner, agreed to buy gambling venues in Canada for US$1.2 billion in its first foray into North America. > read more

Tracinda May Add Muscle Back to Chrysler

Billionaire real estate investor Kirk Kerkorian's investment firm, Tracinda Corp., is offering to acquire the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler for $4.5 billion. > read more

Travelocity Parent Taken Private

Private equity investors Texas Pacific Group and Silver Lake Partners have completed their purchase of Travelocity.com's parent company, Sabre Holdings, and have taken the company private. > read more

Crescent Sells Hotels to Walton for $620M

Crescent Real Estate Equities Co, a real-estate investment trust founded by Richard Rainwater, and its partners agreed to sell US properties including the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa for $620 million to Walton TCC Hotel Investors, just days after Walton terminated its offer. > read more

Tribune Sells Self to Zell

Media giant Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs baseball team has agreed to go private through an $8.2 billion sale to billionaire Sam Zell and employees. > read more

Cemex Wins Rinker With Increased $14.2 Billion Offer

Cemex SA, the world's third-largest cement producer, agreed to buy Rinker Group Ltd. for $14.2 billion after raising its offer, to increase market share in the three fastest-growing U.S. states. > read more

Six Private Bankers Leave UBS for Goldman

Six private bankers have quit UBS AG in Singapore to join rival Goldman Sachs, banking sources said on Tuesday. > read more

Starwood Caught Under Buyer's Gaze?

Starwood Hotels & Resorts could be tempted by buyout offers following the resignation of Chief Executive Steven Heyer under pressure from the company's board of directors. > read more

Nestle to Buy Gerber From Novartis

Nestle is expected to announce a $5 billion deal to acquire the Gerber baby-food unit from Novartis, expanding its scope in the nutritional products business. > read more

Swiss Drug Maker Roche Agrees To Buy BioVeris for $600M

BioVeris Corp, a maker of biological and chemical diagnostic systems, said Wednesday it has agreed to be acquired by Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG for $21.50 a share, or about $600 million. > read more

Harrah's Shareholders Agree to Cash In

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. shareholders agreed to a $17.1 billion buyout by private equity firms Apollo Management Group and Texas Pacific Group, in the largest deal ever to take a publicly held casino company private. > read more

Doubt Looms Over Four Seasons Deal

Four Seasons says Marsico Capital Management, which owns almost 19 percent of the company's limited voting shares, plans to vote against the transaction, according to recent regulatory filings. > read more

The Buyout Binge

Bill Conway, the cofounder and managing director of The Carlyle Group, told bankers and private equity partners at a meeting in January that he wished he'd done more: "We should have done every single deal, everywhere in the world. Every deal worked." > read more

Another One Bites the Dust

Subprime mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. > read more

Barclays, ABN Amro Know Most, Pay the Least for Takeover Advice

Ask Barclays Plc and ABN Amro Holding NV how much takeover advice is worth and they'll prove it's a lot less than what companies in any other industry pay banks for arranging acquisitions, according to Bloomberg. > read more

Mittal, India Billionaires Compete for Sesa Goa Stake

Lakshmi Mittal, the world's fifth-richest man, is competing with two fellow Indian billionaires to buy control of Sesa Goa Ltd, the nation's largest nonstate iron ore exporter, people familiar with the plan said. > read more

Wyeth Completes Japanese Unit Buyout

Wyeth has completed its four-year, $419.9 million buyout of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.'s interest in the Japanese unit Wyeth K.K. > read more

Fool's Gold

News of a U.S. financier's buyout of the South African miner Gold Fields is based on a hoax, according to FT Alphaville. > read more

Four Suitors Seen for TSB Registrars Arm

Four suitors remain in the hunt to buy Lloyds TSB's share registration business, with final bids of up to $1.2 billion expected the week of April 16, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. > read more

Inverness Fights Beckman for Biosite

Inverness Medical Innovations stepped in on Beckman Coulter's bid to acquire diagnostic device maker Biosite with an unsolicited offer of $90 a share, or more than $1.6 billion. > read more

Green Resorts in Wine Country

With solar power, skylights and a swan pond, the new Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa is the first of a series of environmentally-friendly resorts consuming less electricity and water and possibly saving travelers' money. > read more

Mittal, After Wrangling, Lifts Offer for Arcelor Brasil Stake

Mittal Steel Co raised its offer for the shares it doesn't already own in Arcelor Brasil SA, following months of wrangling with Brazilian regulators over the transaction. > read more

Google Vies for DoubleClick Buy

Google is pitting itself against Microsoft as a suitor for online advertising company DoubleClick, possibly boosting the final sale price of the company. > read more

25% Fees: Too Much to Carry?

Buyouts magazine reports that some midsize private equity firms are raising their carried interest from the industry standard of 20% to 25%. > read more

Barclays, ABN Amro Know Most, Pay the Least for Takeover Advice

Ask Barclays Plc and ABN Amro Holding NV how much takeover advice is worth and they'll prove it's a lot less than what companies in any other industry pay banks for arranging acquisitions. > read more

Citigroup Pressured for New Bid on Brokerage

Orbis Investment Management, a shareholder of Japan's third-biggest brokerage house, Nikko Cordial Corp., is pushing Citigroup to raise its $13.4 billion takeover bid for the firm, offering its 5.8 percent stake in the market at a higher price. > read more

Apollo to Buy Xstrata Aluminum Unit

Mining company Xstrata says it's planning to sell its aluminum business to private equity firm Apollo Management for $1.15 billion in cash to raise funds for a string of acquisitions. > read more

Advancis Aims To Find a Buyer

Advancis Pharmaceutical Corp is eyeing strategic options, which "include - probably preferably - pursuing a sale of the company," according to a spokesman. > read more

Zell and Geffen Talk L.A. Times

Billionaire Samuel Zell is discussing a deal to sell the Los Angeles Times to entertainment mogul David Geffen following the approval of his $13.2 billion bid for the Tribune Co. > read more

In Mumbai, a Fleet of Luxury Taxi Cabs

Catering to corporate demand and an increase in foreign tourists and business travelers, a private taxi company is launching a fleet of 150 of modern cabs in Mumbai. > read more

Cemex's Rinker Bid Gets US Approval; Offer May Rise

Cemex SA, the world's third-largest cement producer, has won US regulatory approval for its hostile bid for Australia's Rinker Group Ltd, heightening speculation it may raise the $11.7 billion offer. > read more

Xerox Sees Global Imaging Acquisition

Xerox has agreed to acquire Global Imaging Systems for $1.46 billion, the largest of three acquisitions it made in the last year. > read more

Toyota to Shuffle Management Team

Toyota is expected to announce a new, shuffled management team by mid-year, but its top executive team is expected to remain relatively unchanged. > read more

Russia TMK, Interpipe in Merger Talks

Russia's TMK, the world's third-largest steel pipe maker by market capitalization, is in merger talks with Ukraine's No.1 producer Interpipe, market sources close to the negotiations said on Tuesday. > read more

Hotel REIT Winston Goes Inland

Winston Hotels, a real estate investment trust that owns hotels, has accepted a takeover offer by Inland American Real Estate Trust, ending a previous agreement with Och-Ziff Real Estate and Norge Churchill Inc. > read more

Merger in the Air

JetDirect Aviation says it has merged operations with Sentient Jet, forming one the country's largest full-service private jet operations. > read more

3i Wants Big Stakes in Three Mid-Caps

Venture capital firm 3i Group is looking to buy large stakes in three middle-sized UK companies in the next 18 months as it tries to use the principles of private equity to turn around publicly listed companies. > read more

webMethods Seen Expanding Software's Strategy

German company Software AG has agreed to acquire business software developer webMethods for $546 million in cash, or $9.15 per share, a significant premium to the company's recent stock price. > read more

Bangkok's New Mini Hotels

Four small hotels are setting the standard for a more intimate - and affordable - experience in the frenetic Thai capital. > read more

LSI Eyes Savings After Agere Acquisition

LSI Logic closed a $3.5 billion deal to buy chip maker Agere and is considering job cuts or consolidating facilities to save $125 million in 2008. > read more

Fort Worth's Bombay Co Aims To Decorate Via M&A?

Following in the steps of a larger competitor, The Bombay Co Inc has climbed onto the block. > read more

Doubledown Media Goes All-in for Luxury with PrivateAirDaily.com

Doubledown Media, publisher of Trader Monthly, Dealmaker, and Private Air magazines, has launched PrivateAirDaily.com. > read more

Polishing Autos When Luxury Cars Lose Luster

With luxury car sales suffering, the industry is now seeking to strike gold with limited edition autos showcased at this year's New York International Auto Show. > read more

EasyGroup To Build Budget Hotels, Offices in India

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the billionaire founder of EasyGroup UK Ltd, plans to offer low-cost hotels, offices and mobile-phones in India where a record economic expansion is spurring demand for business services. > read more

A Small Company's Massive Electronics

With only 100 employees, small television maker Runco is a huge hit among ultra luxury consumer-electronics shoppers, beating even the high end displays from Pioneer Electronics and Fujitsu. > read more

Duke boy heads to Wall Street

David Evans had everything going for him. He was doing well at Duke University, was Captain of the lacrosse team, and had a Wall Street job offer in the bag. Then his world fell apart. > read more

Trader Monthly Unveils 100 Highest-Paid Traders

Dealmaker's sister publication, Trader Monthly, has released its fourth annual list of the world's 100 highest-earning traders. It took $50 million to make this year's cut. > read more

TEST

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