bloggingbuyouts

The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) has just announced that Laurence Tosi will become the new Chief Financial Officer for the private equity giant. He comes to the company from Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) where he served as Chief Operating Officer for the Global Markets and Investment Banking Group. He will also serve on the executive committee and is expected to take up this position "after the summer."

Blackstone also noted that Michael Puglisi, the current CFO, will remain on board as a senior managing director and will remain a member of senior management while he will take leadership of other firm matters and special projects for Stephen Schwarzman.

Puglisi has spent fourteen years at Blackstone.

Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) has announced that the management-led investor group has terminated the planned merger agreement. While there was a glimmer of hope that this was going to be rekindled, the deal spread on this was so wide that a fleet of trucks could have driven between it.

Cumulus has agreed with the investor group led by Lew Dickey, its Chairman, President and CEO, and an affiliate of Merrill Lynch's (NYSE: MER) Global Private Equity, to terminate the merger agreement which first came on July 23, 2007. The members of the investor group informed Cumulus that after exploring possible alternatives they were unable to agree on terms on which they could proceed with the buyout.

As a result of the termination of the merger agreement, the investor group has agreed to promptly pay Cumulus a merger termination fee of $15 million. In addition, the terms of the previously announced amendment to Cumulus' existing credit agreement will not take effect. Cumulus had a market cap of $253.6 million based upon a $5.81 close on Friday.

The company has also announced that its board of directors intends to explore the possible implementation of a new stock repurchase plan in the near-term in order to provide liquidity opportunities to stockholders.

A report inthe Financial Times says that Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MER) is holding talks with TPG about forming closer ties. This may include the possibility of the private equity firm investing in Merrill Lynch if the investment bank needs more capital. John Thain met with key executives from TPG according to the report.

The companies have apparently been in discussions since last fall. One affiliate had offered to put in as much as $3 billion into Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch raised some $12+ billion in funds elsewhere for different terms.

What is interesting here is that the article notes that TPG doesn't want to appear too close to Merrill Lynch, because of the appearance of being too close to a competitor.

The company has also raised additional funds this month by selling fixed income and preferred securities.

John Thain's suspenders and belt might be a little tighter since he went on record saying Merrill Lynch will not need any more capital.

Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) has an SEC FILING this morning noting that the company has received necessary consent from the lender group under its existing credit agreement that would allow it to enter into an amendment to permit a merger. It had previously noted on March 5, 2008 that it had entered discussions with lenders.

Members of the lending group holding in excess of 50% of the debt required to enter into an amendment gave their consents. The management-led merger would be with an investment group led by its Chairman, President & CEO Lewis W. Dickey Jr. and an affiliate of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, part of Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER).

This is not a done deal yet as merger completion remains subject to various conditions. Some conditions include approval by shareholders, FCC approval, and other customary closing conditions. The original buyout price was $11.75. On last look, shares were up more than 12% at $5.51, and the 52-week trading range is $4.90 to $11.74.

This has been one of the longer standing mergers as it was announced back in July 2007 right at the peak of the world being awash in liquidity and the height of private equity deals. On last look, the company had roughly 345 radio stations in 67 U.S. markets. Its market cap as of today is $238 million.

Lew Dickey started up Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) back in 1997. Before this, he founded Stratford Research in 1985, a top research firm focused on the radio and television markets. He even wrote a book: The Franchise - Building Radio Brands.

But his biggest deal was Cumulus, where he arranged more than 130 acquisitions to build a powerhouse in radio.

Yet, with private equity dollars flowing, Dickey has now decided to do a buyout . He has partnered with Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (NYSE: MER) for the $1.3 billion deal.

The radio sector has seen a lot of dealmaking. For example, there's the $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU).

While the internet may pose some threat, investors are still convinced of the future of traditional radio. And the cash flows are fairly predictable (making it easier to get debt financing).

On the news of the deal, Cumulus' shares spiked 32.74% to $11.11. The buyout offer is $11.75.

If you want to check out some more recent M&A transactions, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.