News Corp. is expecting to see bids for Myspace by the end of the week, Reuters said, with a price tag estimated at around $100 million – less than 20% of what News Corp. paid to acquire the once popular social networking site. News of the latest planned bids and expected valuation was first reported by Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. THL Partners, Redscout Ventures and Criterion Capital have all been named as potential buyers. News Corp. paid $580 million for Myspace in 2005.

Debt refinancing dominated U.S. leveraged lending in the first quarter, according to data collected by Thomson Reuters LPC, a sister service of peHUB that tracks the loan market. Refinancings include dividend recapitalizations to pay dividends to sponsors as well as straightforward refinancings designed to lower a borrower’s interest rate or extend debt maturities.

Though I’m in Quebec for the Quebec City Conference, I couldn’t resist the news that Dunkin’ Brands is raising about $2 billion, at least part of which is earmarked to fund a dividend to its PE shareholders.

Dunkin’ Brands, which is owned by Bain Capital, the Caryle Group and THL Partners, said Monday that it’s in the market for a $1.3 billion loan. The company is also raising $625 million in senior notes, according to the statement.

PE firms are on the hunt for banks again, several sources say.

Interest is so great that i-bank Sandler O’Neill & Partners is handling mandates from at least 15 banks that are looking to recapitalize. And the primary source of new funds? Buyout shops.

“All the small banks in the world are trying to find new capital,” says one banker. “PE is the only real money for any deal,” adds a buyout executive.

Independent Bank Corp., parent of Independent Bank, and AnchorBancorp Wisconsin, which owns AnchorBank, are each in talks with PE firms for funding, sources say.

Parthenon Capital looks ready to sell Intermedix Corp., a provider of billing and other business process solutions to emergency services providers. An FTC alert suggests that the buyer would be fellow buyout firm THL Partners, although no pricing details were disclosed. Such FTC reports typically mean that the buyer and seller have an agreement in [...]

THL Partners has completed the sale of its majority stake in food supplier Michael Foods to GS Capital Partners for $1.7 billion. THL, which acquired the company in 2003, has retained a 20% ownership position.

Banks, even the problem ones, provide a chance for buyout shops to buy cheap deposits that can be grown and loaned out for decent returns. But buyout shops appear to be staying away. There have been 140 M&A transactions involving U.S. banks so far this year, raising about $2.8 billion. This is down from last [...]

Warburg Pincus has agreed to invest $138 million into Sterling Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: STSA), as part of the bank holding company’s recapitalization. THL Partners previously had agreed to invest $175 million, but will adjust its investment to match that of Warburg Pincus. PRESS RELEASE Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:STSA) (“Sterling”), the bank holding company of Sterling Savings [...]

(Reuters) – Pharmaceutical services provider InVentiv Health Inc (VTIV.O) said it agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners for about $1.1 billion. THL Partners will pay $26 per share, a premium of 7 percent to InVentiv’s closing price Wednesday on Nasdaq. However, InVentiv shares had already risen 42 percent since [...]

(Reuters) – Three big private equity firms have teamed up to bid for Fidelity National Information Services Inc (FIS.N), sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday, a deal that, if completed, would rank as the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis hit. Blackstone Group (BX.N), Thomas H. Lee Partners and TPG Capital are [...]