News and Analysis

The new deal pipeline is nearly dry, and most of the exits are blocked. So let’s move on to what may become the buyout market story of 2008: Defaults. In can be tough to predict which deals will or won’t go bust, but S&P gives us some breadcrumbs each month with its “Weakest Links” list of […]

PMG Partners, a provider of medical billing and collection services, has acquired Medibis, an Oklahoma City-based provider of Web-based reporting, analysis and benchmarking software for ambulatory surgery centers. No financial terms were disclosed. PMG is a portfolio company of Bertram Capital. PRESS RELEASE PMG Partners, LLC announced today it acquired Oklahoma City, OK-based MEDIBIS, a […]

Buzznet Inc., a Los Angeles-based social media community focused on music and pop culture, has acquired Washington, DC-based social music company Qloud, according to Mashable. No financial terms were reported. Buzznet last year raised a $6 million Series B round, and PaidContent reports that it's added another $25 million from investors like Interscope Records. Backers […]

As an LP with broad exposure to alternative investments, I’ve previously lamented owning entire capital structures. In mega-buyouts, we often find ourselves owning the equity and the debt, and paying 2-and-20 on each. If you took that approach to public companies, you wouldn’t be in the investment field very long. For LPs with exposure to […]

Glam Media, a female-focused online advertising network, has acquired StyleMob, a San Francisco-based ocial media company focused on fashion. No financial terms were disclosed. Glam has raised over $87 million in VC funding from firms like Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Accel Partners, DAG Ventures and Walden Venture Capital. www.glammedia.com

Clear Channel today warned in an SEC filing that its buyout may not close, which is generating headlines despite the manifest obviousness of such a statement. Had the company said that the deal will certainly close, then that would be news. So let’s move on to what may actually be happening with some of the banks: […]

Lakeside Energy LLC, a Chicago-based energy company backed by American Securities, has acquired a 150 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Hazleton, Pa. from an affiliate of Williams (NYSE: WMB). No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which included new equity provided by American Capital.  PRESS RELEASE Lakeside Energy LLC (Lakeside), a Chicago-based energy […]

In case you haven’t heard, Clear Channel and its prospective buyers – Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners – late yesterday sued six banks for refusing to fund the protracted $19.5 billion deal. The suits were filed in New York and Texas, with the primary difference being that the plaintiffs asked for the death […]

Expocrete Concrete Products Ltd., an Alberta, Canada-based concrete products maker owned by Tricor Pacific Capital, has acquired Weldon's Concrete Products Ltd., a  Saskatchewan-based masonry, hollow core and concrete pipe manufacturer. No financial terms were disclosed. www.expocrete.com

The $19.5 billion Clear Channel Communications (CCU) buyout is going to court, in what may be the first ever case of buyout firms suing bankers for failing to consummate a transaction. Clear Channel and its two prospective buyers — Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners — late this afternoon filed complaints in both New York […]