The skulduggery of banks who want out of LBOs is already widely known, and expected. Big financial companies have tried to put the legs out from under a deal to take Clear Channel (NYSE:CCU) private, and now appear ready to take a powder on the contract to buy-out Bell Canada (NYSE:BCE).
Leaving aside the ethics of the matter, although that is hardly fair, the $51.8 billion which was offered for BCE was expensive. It was, according to the Guinness Book Of World Records and other sources, the largest deal of its kind, ever.
Now, banks, including Citigroup (NYSE:C), which does not have much of a reputation left at any level, want better terms including higher interest rates. According to The New York Times "The negotiations over the Bell Canada buyout began to fray late Friday."
