David Roux, a Silver Lake co-founder and chairman, was named to the National Audubon Society’s board of directors. Audubon connects people with birds, nature and the environment. PRESS RELEASE David Roux, co-founder and Chairman of Silver Lake, has been named to the Board of Directors of the National Audubon Society. Roux’s work as Silver Lake’s [...]

(Reuters) – Yahoo has signed confidentiality agreements with several parties interested in buying all or part of the Internet company, according to people familiar with the matter. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet pioneer said potential buyers had to sign an agreement by Friday to be allowed a close look at Yahoo’s finances. The Friday deadline could [...]

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp is considering a bid for Yahoo Inc, resurfacing as a potential buyer after a bitter and unsuccessful fight to take over the Internet company in 2008, sources close to the situation said on Wednesday. Microsoft joins a host of other companies looking at Yahoo, which has a market value of about [...]

The value of U.S. announced M&A transactions dropped 9.4% in third quarter, while PE-backed deals showed gains, according to data from Dealogic.

There were 2,662 U.S. M&A deals in third quarter, totaling $239.7 billion. This compares to 2,344 transactions valued at about $264.6 billion for the same time period in 2010, Dealogic says. Third quarter’s deal values were also off about 6% from Q2 when 2,614 transactions totaled $254.5 billion, Dealogic says.

PE-backed deals showed increases in both deal value (up 14.2%) and the number of deals (up 11%). Private equity was involved in 162 transactions in Q3, valued at $21.7 billion. This compares to 146 deals in third quarter of 2010 that totaled about $19 billion. But the value and number of PE-backed deals declined from second quarter when 151 transactions totaled $23.8 billion.

Here’s the top 5 U.S. announced PE deals for third quarter.

Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co. are readying Yahoo’s books and preparing to provide potential buyers with financial information about the company, Reuters reported Tuesday. Potential buyers include buyout shop Silver Lake Partners and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Yahoo is considering inquiries from various parties about its future, but expects to take months make any decision, Reuters wrote. Yahoo has retained Allen & Co to help it conduct a “strategic review” after it fired Chief Executive Carol Bartz earlier this month. Private equity firm Silver Lake Partners is among the parties that have been in touch with Allen & Co, according to a Reuters source.

(Reuters) – Private equity firm Silver Lake is considering a bid for Internet firm Yahoo Inc, according to media reports late Thursday.

As part of a deal, Silver Lake would sell off Yahoo’s Asian assets and then attempt to turn around the main operations or find a buyer for that business, two people involved in the deliberations told Bloomberg.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal, citing one of the people familiar with the matter, said that Yahoo has not met with Silver Lake and it was not clear precisely what the private equity firm proposed.

Telecom equipment maker Avaya Holding Corp., which is owned by Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital, plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AVYA,” Reuters reported Thursday. The company filed in June for a $1 billion IPO. Avaya was taken private in 2007 in an $8 billion deal.

GoDaddy Group appears to have found some buyers.

Today, several reports said that KKR was leading a group to acquire GoDaddy, an Internet domain-name and hosting company. Silver Lake Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures are part of the KKR group, The Wall Street Journal says.

Publicly traded Smart Modular Technologies Inc. has announced the expiration of its “go-shop period,” which followed Silver Lake Partners’ buyout offer in April. Buyout shop Silver Lake Partners will acquire the Newark, Calif.-based Smart Modular Technologies in a cash deal that values the company at roughly $645 million. Smart Modular is a maker of memory chips. Silver Lake has roughly $14 billion under management.