David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, recently predicted we'd see a comeback in private equity deals. However, he did suggest that the transaction amounts would be smaller, ranging from $2 billion to $4 billion.
Well, based on reports from The Wall Street Journal (subscription only), we may see a new deal soon.
That is, the Weather Channel is in the midst of an auction. So far, the leading bidders include: Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and a partnership of GE (NYSE: GE) and the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX). It looks like the auction is in the second round.
Now, the GE-Blackstone partnership is interesting. Keep in mind that Blackstone has a long history of such arrangements. Basically, it helps to alleviate the financial burden. Besides, Blackstone has a proven track record of showing cooperation with major corporate alliance partners.
And the price tag for a deal? The range is about $3 billion to $4 billion. Unfortunately, it looks like the parent company of the Weather Channel – Landmark Communications – wanted to fetch $5 billion. But the credit crunch is still taking a toll on valuations.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
