bloggingbuyouts

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is considering buying Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM), the nation's largest savings and loan. It sounds like Sandy Weill is back in charge and trying to create the kind of financial conglomerate he built in the 1990s and earlier this decade.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Citigroup and several other banks are reviewing the Seattle thrift holding company's books, which are packed with shaky mortgages."

Just a few months ago, Citi CEO Vikram Pandit was talking about cutting the big bank's expenses by 20% and selling off "non-core" assets. Now he is thinking about buying the most troubled large financial company in America.

Pandit would be better off staying with his first plan. There is a reason WaMu's stock got down to under $2. If mortgage defaults move up and housing prices move down, the mortgage company's financial situation could get much worse.

Pandit is proving to be a "flavor-of-the-month" CEO. Investors never know what he plans to do tomorrow, let alone what he wants to do with Citi over the next year.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

Nortel Networks Corp.'s (NT) surprise announcement that it plans to seek a buyer for its Metro Ethernet Networks business is a decisive, but risky, move that analysts say could presage an unraveling of the whole company. While some applaud the move as the sort of bold action that struggling Nortel has long required, they say it will be an extremely bitter pill for the company to swallow. As one of the company's stronger businesses, a sale of MEN could leave Nortel's remaining assets in jeopardy, says Lehman Bros. analyst Jeff Kvall.

Other analysts quoted by Business Week are viewing the planned sale as a harbinger of more sales. At least for now, however, Nortel is insisting that's not its intent. In this interview, Philippe Morin, who heads the MEN business, which makes technology to deliver broadband Internet access in urban environments, said the company had identified MEN for a sale precisely because of its relatively strong performance.

"It will help the balance sheet for Nortel but, at the same time, also help us to make some further investments around enterprise, around applications, and other areas around the core strategy direction that Nortel is focusing on," Morin says.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) are both trading higher pre-market on numerous reports that the companies may have secured some tentative approval out of the last FCC commissioner if the companies agree to additional conditions.

The companies already received backing from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who has already supported the merger despite all of the congressional special interests and the RIAA objections to this competing against terrestrial radio.

Apparently the newest requests are for a 6-year pricing cap and a request for one-quarter of the programming to be made available for minority or public interests. Interestingly enough, there was some very unusual options activity around this situation just yesterday.

Continue reading the full story at 247wallst.com.

Madison Dearborn Partners LLC isn't letting the current environment get in the way of fund raising, at least not according to a report in The Deal. The private equity firm is looking overseas and is including sovereign wealth funds for a new private equity fund of up to $10 billion.

This also notes that the first round of the fund closed at $4 billion in mid-April with investments from existing limited partners. But there are also reported problems in the ability to raise funds if the sources are accurate.

The Deal is citing a "a well-placed source." Perhaps a memo should be passed out around the firm with the mere message, "Loose lips sink ships."

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) gave some very unusual volume trading alerts this morning, and the culprit here is nothing less than buyout offer chatter. Yep, it seems that the rumor mill has the fried dough maker as one of the next buyout candidates.

It took only about 35 minutes for us to see double the normal average daily trading volume. The culprit is a private equity buyout of $7.25 per share, yet no one understands if the "offer" is real. MGL Asset Management Group LLC out of Charlotte has been named as the suitor. Whether or not that is the case is something different entirely.

If you know the history of this company you probably understand that it is synonymous with "disappointment." The buyout chatter price is $7.25, yet the 52-week trading range is $2.23 to $9.48. You can determine on your own whether or not an offer is a good as a take. Chatter on top of that is yet another issue.

Despite this having been covered on CNBC and despite the written reports above, it would take a lot more faith than sense to believe this until actual facts are released from either the private equity firm or Krispy Kreme itself.

Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) is sitting on the brink of a buyout. The question is who, and how much. The deal with Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) is still very possible, but investor Mark Wattles of Wattles Capital Management has said to expect a deal within four weeks regardless. With Circuit City shares nearly the bottom -- closing yesterday at $4.35 -- some entity needs to swoop in and just offer cash for the company. As in, now.

It's a foregone conclusion that Circuit City can't compete with other national consumer electronics retailers. The access to its prime real estate locations would be a main reason for the chain to be bought up at such a fire sale price. Wattles said Blockbuster and two unnamed private equity firms are most likely the three finalists ready to step up and purchase Circuit City.

While all this "due diligence" is going on for buying a retailer at such a low price, shareholders are getting antsy with good reason. It's hard to imagine any shareholder making out on Circuit City stock -- including Wattles who stands to lose a good chunk of change unless the shares rebound. Circuit City's largest investor, HBK Investments (a 9% stake), probably needs to have a deal done as soon as possible with a sweet premium to the current share price. Who could blame them?

Regardless of who buys Circuit City, this is a company that needs to return shareholder equity back to its shareholders and just fold up and go away. It's not going to get any better.

Samuel Israel III founded the Bayou Hedge Fund Group in 1996. Within a few years, the hedge fund was deep in the red, and Israel and some of his associates came up with a novel way to deal with their problem: they created their own auditing firm and promptly gave themselves a clean bill of health. Making profits is easy when you cook the books, and Bayou cooked with the best of them, long and well enough to keep the criminal enterprise going for many more years.

Eventually, Israel was caught and Bayou went belly up. Some estimates put the total investor loss at more than $450 million. Last April, Israel was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and he was to begin serving that time today. But ABC News is reporting that Israel failed to show up at prison. His SUV was found near a bridge that spans the Hudson River, with the words "suicide is painless" written in the dust on the hood. But no body has been found and no one saw him jump.

Somehow, I have trouble imagining a thief of such epic proportions killing himself. Escape at all cost seems a more likely pursuit. I suspect that a careful review of all passengers getting onto planes to Buenos Aires or Bangkok today might just yield a former hedge fund manager trying to pull off one more scam.

Video game maker Activision Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) on Monday said it has filed a definitive proxy statement relating to its proposed $9.8 billion merger with Vivendi Games Inc. A special meeting of Activision stockholders will be held on July 8 to approve the transaction.

Activision also has been mentioned as a possible buyer for rival game maker Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), which is being pursued by Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS). Activision, of course, still has its hands full completing the Vivendi Games merger. But with Take-Two so far being able to drag out the process with Electronic Arts and the government not yet signing off on the regulatory aspects of the deal, there's little question an acquisition of Take-Two won't be completed by July 8.

In a research report put out on Monday, UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter discounts the possibility of Activision going after Take-Two. Schachter notes that despite "some interesting synergies between the companies," and the strength in Take-Two's franchises -- most notably "Grand Theft Auto" -- he's not sure Activision would have an interest in Take-Two's sports business, which has underperformed. Nor would Acitivision have much use for Take-Two's casual or distribution businesses, he argues, also pointing out that there remains some uncertainty about the contract of "GTA" developer RockStar, whose contract expires early next year.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

According to a fresh report out of CNBC's David Faber, Alltel may soon be acquired by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ). Faber just noted that the companies are in advanced talks to acquire the current private equity held telecom operator by TPG and GSCP, which are Texas Pacific Group and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.

Alltel went private last year and has somewhere in the vicinity of 13 million wireless subscribers. The value of that deal was in the 427 to $27.5 billion range, and interestingly enough this new deal may not be at any or at much of a premium to that price.

If there is any company that can acquire this and not have all the credit rating issues and not run into multiple bank debt issues like private equity, then it is Verizon. There are a couple of other players like AT&T (NYSE: T) or some foreign-owned carriers that could swing it too.

Read more about the full implications for the sector and which other companies might be affected by this deal at 247WallSt.com.

If you look at the trading of stock and options in Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (NYSE: BUD), you might think that a merger offer of some sort is going to be announced soon. This morning Reuters ran a piece about how Belgium's InBev is putting pressure on non-family shareholders to consider a $46 billion merger or risk being left in the cold in the global beer consolidation.

The article points to a $65.00 per share bid, although no formal offer has been made to the company, at least not publicly. The real winner here would be Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK/A, BRK/B) as his last holdings date shows Mr. Buffett holding more than 227 million shares with a current value of some $13 billion.

But if you look at trading over the last few hours, it seems that things are picking up on the bias of traders toward a deal being at least offered. The share volume is now almost 5 million shares, and the average daily volume is only 5.7 million shares.

If you want to read a quick on the fly options analysis, you can continue reading that full option analysis at Volume Spike (Vsinvestor.com). The volume spike was significant and impossible to ignore. Until word comes from either side, we'll chalk this up to speculation or rumors.

BCE, Inc. (NYSE: BCE) is one of the large multi-billion dollar pending mergers that is on hold and is caught in the middle of a fight. Its merger has been on the books for nearly a year but its ultimate fate is not yet know. Because of all the speculation in this and with a legal fight currently underway, this one is uncertain.

We have seen leveraged trading in the stock options activity today that threw up a big giant red flag. More than 20,000 options contracts traded today that looks like a straddle play in the June options.

You can read the full story at Volume Spike (VSinvestor.com) to see in-depth options analysis, where we think this stock has to go, and more detailed data on the BCE, Inc. legal fight.

24/7 WallSt.com has come up with a list of 11 targets that could fall under foreign ownership. These deals should become easier and easier for foreign entities or sovereign wealth funds if the extreme weakness in the dollar continues. However, the dollar's slide may be interrupted, as our interest rate futures are calling for more than a 100-basis point rise.

Our country and our companies have increasingly become targets for foreigners buying assets on the cheap. The trick is determining which ones have no impact on US national security so that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and other watchdogs don't file to block the merger.

Major U.S. companies failed to move aggressively after the Asian Contagion in 1998, which was their last chance to buy foreign properties at a discount. Now that The US Dollar has become the US Peso, it seems that the U.S. could see many US-based companies become foreign acquisition targets.

This may be the post-American cycle taking effect or the flattening out of the world. Whatever it ends up being, it isn't going to be without controversy and without change. You can read the full story from 247WallSt.com to see the list of eleven possible deals of public US companies as well as a list of eleven other current US brands that are now foreign-owned.

Shares of Chemtura Corporation (NYSE: CEM) are seeing some love early Tuesday. A report out of the WSJ from last night is putting the stock in play as a potential takeover target. The report notes that Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) and Apollo Management LP are in talks to acquire the specialty chemical maker.

The company's market cap is almost $1.9 billion, so it would seem within the realm of deal sizes even in an environment where private equity types have not been able to do many deals. Whether or not the deal is made, that is yet to be seen.

Chemtura products are used in flame retardants, polymer additives, PVC additives, agriculture, plastics, and more.

Even on a deal this size, do we need club deals in a private equity environment in need of simplification? Either way, until we have an announcement. this should be treated as just a rumor.

CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE: CEO) closed at $185.35. The Globe and Mail says long-held speculation that China is seeking to buy Canadian oil and gas companies resurfaced yesterday, as a Chinese newspaper (South China Morning Post) reported the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) CEO may be looking to acquire Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM).

CNOOC over all option implied volatility of 46 is near its 26-week average of 47 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

M&A Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is cutting production at its Volvo unit, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move, which could affect one-third of workers -- some 700 -- is seen as an attempt to cut the costs and losses at the upscale Swedish brand.

The question everyone is asking is whether this move is done in preparation for a sale. According to "people familiar with the matter" who discussed such things with the Journal, CEO Alan Mulally is interested in putting Volvo, whose sales have been declining, on the block. Of course, to analysts, Mulally sang a different tune last month, saying the priority is improve the Swedish auto maker operations "dramatically."

As Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. continues to build its stake int he company, he may also have a thing or two to say on the matter.

For now, Volvo is cutting where it makes larger, less popular vehicles, and it plans to make fewer cars overall. But can this make Volvo more profitable to Ford, or at least more attractive to buyers? There are costs associated with producing a smaller number of vehicles, but with Volvo reporting 22,000 fewer vehicles sold during the first quarter, cutting production makes sense. Another matter Ford has to consider is the massive losses it suffered lately just from the kronor-dollar exchange rate.

It was nearly a year ago that speculation ran amok that German carmaker BMW could be interested in buying Volvo. Could it still be interested? Years back, Renault was interested too. With the credit crunch still crimping deals, and with some major players like private equity -- keeping in mind Chrysler's sale to Cerberus -- absent, it's likely such a sale could be postponed.

After selling its Land Rover and Jaguar units to India's Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM) in a deal worth $2.3 billion, and Aston Martin for $848 million to investors led by David Richards, if Ford sells Volvo, it will be left only with Lincoln as its luxury line.