Dell is in talks with two private equity firms to go private, Bloomberg News reports.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings said Wednesday that it has “no knowledge” pf plans by private equity firms to take over the company via an LBO. LabCorp said in a statement that it is not in current discussions with any firms. LabCorp is responding to a Mergermarket report that says a PE consortium plans to [...]

Click on this morning’s First Read to find out everything you need to know about biotech this summer, Microsoft and NBC’s break-up and why Facebook has bought Spool.

Blackstone, BC Partners and PAI are into the second round of Permira’s auction of Europe’s biggest frozen food company, but Bain and Clayton Dubilier & Rice did not make the cut, Reuters reports.

US retailer Michaels Stores has filed with regulators to raise up to $500 million in an IPO that could be one of the year’s largest IPOs in the retail sector, writes Reuters. The offering comes six years after private equity owners Blackstone and Bain purchased the Texas-based arts and crafts company for more than $6 [...]

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Many bubble-era LBOs have turned in poor performances, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service.

Moody’s looked at 40 LBOs from 2006 to early 2008, the go-go days for buyouts. While a majority of the companies have seen their financial leverage drop, earnings and revenue growth for most have been “significantly below” projections, Moody’s said.

Exits for the bubble group have also been rare. In fact, most are still owned by their PE owners, the report said. Seven have completed IPOs and only one target has been sold (that’s Alltel. Verizon Wireless acquired Alltel in 2009; it had been owned by TPG and Goldman Sachs PE unit). Only five of the companies have paid “material dividends,” while three companies–Chrysler, Aleris International and Station Casinos– have filed for bankruptcy, Moody’s said.