bloggingbuyouts

With its plans to become a public company in Q4, the folks at KKR have a lot on their plate. Even so, the company realizes it needs to keep building the firm.

In light of the credit crunch and slowing economy, this is a tough thing. After all, much of KKR's business comes from its buyout business, which has been mostly frozen for the past year.

But KKR understands that private equity is a long-term proposition, and there are certainly some great investment opportunities right now. One attractive area is infrastructure, and in May KKR announced plans to raise a $10 billion infrastructure fund and retained a top Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) executive, George Bilicic, to manage things.

This week there was more activity on this initiative. KKR retained John Bryson as a Senior Advisor. No doubt, he's a maestro of infrastructure. He was formerly the CEO of Edison International (he joined the firm in 1984) where he had to deal with complex regulations as well as find ways to grow operations. Before this, he was a partner at the law firm, Morrison & Foerster and even served as the president of the California Public Utilities Commission.

Of course, KKR is facing lots of competition in the infrastructure category, such as from other tier-1 private equity operators and even sovereign wealth funds. Take a look at TPG, which has recently made a preliminary $6.5 billion bid for Australia's Asciano, a port and rails firm.

But infrastructure is a massive space with room for many players. More importantly, private equity firms are bulging with cash and need to find places to put it.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Sun-Times Media Group, Inc. (NYSE: SVN), the Chicago and national news operation, announced today that Lazard, a unit of Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ), will assist the company in evaluating strategic alternatives in an effort to boost shareholder value.

On February 4, the company reported that they were evaluating strategies, including joint ventures or partnerships with third parties and the sale of the any or all of its assets,. But by hiring Lazard, they are indicating that the company is more likely to actually find those alternatives than if they just search on their own.

It doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to understand the problems and issues in local media companies in newspapers, television, or radio. Sun-Times operates in more than 200 communities, so even if the company doesn't sell its entire operations it will have many units that could be up for grabs.

Jon Ogg is a partner and editor of 247WallSt.com.

This week, investment bank Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) reported its quarterly earnings. As should be no surprise, the results were solid, with profits of $61.5 million, or 53 cents.

True, this compares to $62.9 million, or $0.60 per share in earnings in the same period a year ago. Then again, investment banking can be volatile -- a couple engagements can have a big impact. And there is lots of competition from biggies like Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

But, with a hefty stock price, Lazard has also been buying up some rivals, such as Australia-based Carnegie, Wylie & Co.

What's more, Lazard's Chairman, Steve Golub, had some interesting insights regarding the problems with private equity and tightening credit.

Interestingly enough, it could be a boost for M&A. How? Well, first of all, valuations are better.

And, assuming private equity firms are having issues, it could make it easier for strategic buyers to purchase companies.

Assuming all this pans it, it would of course be a very nice thing for Lazard.

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

Darwin Deason is the founder of Affiliated Computer Services (NYSE: ACS) and still owns a hefty 42% of the company. He is also in the process of buying out the company and has partnered with the private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management.

But some investors thought the buyout is a raw deal. Why? One big concern: there is no "go shop" provision, which allows other bidders to come to the table (without big breakup fees and penalties).

So, today ACS disclosed that there is a "go shop" and the deadline is August 19, 2007. Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) will handle the process.

This is a decent amount of time. However, it's never easy to get a deal done during the summer. Besides, it's usually the case that a "go shop" doesn't amount to much anyway.

But Wall Street has some hope. On the latest news, ACS's stock price increased $1.53 to $59.79. The current buyout offer is for $62 per share.

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

Arrow International (NASDAQ: ARRO) made an announcement today that almost always thrills investors. That is, the company has formed a special committee of the board of directors to "explore and evaluate strategic alternatives aimed at enhancing shareholder value."

Yes, the company is thinking of selling out. And, to this end, Arrow has hired the M&A advisory firm, Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ).

Something else: board member Richard Niner resigned. In his farewell letter, he said he was disappointed in the decision to sell the company (you can check out the letter at the SEC website – it's kind of juicy, referring to "clandestine" moves by other board members).

As for Arrow, the company develops disposable catheters. In the most recent quarter, sales were $123.4 million and net income was $14.4 million. There is $172.6 million in the bank.

Wall Street is taking things seriously. On the news today, Arrow's stock price surged 19.24% to $39.16.

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