bloggingbuyouts

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.

Yahoo! Inc.'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) stock price has held up surprisingly well. Trading at $26.07 midday, its shares are only modestly below their closing price of $26.81 on May 1, the session before they rallied on talk that Yahoo! and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). were close to a deal. The price is even more surprising given the reports that Yahoo! plans to outsource its search advertising to Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) may be premature. If that deal is on the backburner, there's little else to support Yahoo!'s stock unless investors are counting on it renewing talks with Microsoft.

Yahoo! has come under fire from shareholders after Microsoft withdrew its offer over the weekend. In the fallout, Yahoo! execs have postured to suggest they were open a deal for even less than the $37 a share, or $53.2 billion, counteroffer they reportedly made to Microsoft's $33 a share, or $47.5 billion, offer.

But If Yahoo! really has indicated to Microsoft that it would accept $34 a share offer, which comes to $48.9 billion, a deal could still come together quickly. Not that it would be simple. Yahoo! has had plenty of time to come to terms. Meanwhile, with Yahoo! shares poised on the precipice, Microsoft arguably has more leverage than it has during the entire saga, which means it can better dictate terms. Microsoft can let Yahoo! sweat it out until the Internet company's annual meeting in July, when shareholders are likely to be in a lather.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

So The Wall Street Journal reports today -- according to its favorite "people familiar with the situation" sentence -- that wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is considering spinning off or selling its Nextel unit. This is when I hear the screeching sound of a needle scraping a record. Say what? Should we play that again?

I guess I shouldn't really be that surprised since the $35 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. in 2005 has always seemed, to say it mildly, challenging. This would be, as the Journal puts it, "a dramatic acknowledgment" that the merger has actually been a failure.

Well, only Monday we heard that Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) may be interested in Sprint. Could it be that either Deutsche Telekom demanded such an action, or that Sprint management decided such an action could entice DT to indeed go forward with an offer (despite the probable problems such a merger could face, as Jonathan Berr outlined in his post Monday)? Without Nextel, Sprint would rid itself of much debt. It is also considered to have better handsets and fewer dropped calls, making it a more attractive target.

The differences in corporate culture made the now three-year-old merger difficult and Sprint has lost subscribers while its competitors added them. Of course, the stock price has suffered as well, down over 60% since the merger. No wonder then that Sprint is looking to undo the merger. The Journal lists several options, including selling Nextel to a consortium of investors related to Nextel's founder Morgan O'Brien. Other possibilities of course include private equity firms, or a spin off of Nextel.

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.

Following this Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) affair is like playing a very high-stakes game of Three Card Monte: Take your eyes off the lucky lady and, pfffft, you're cooked.

As paidContent reported yesterday and the Wall Street Journal confirmed this morning, Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) is talking with the Internet company about shipping AOL and a trunk full of cash to Yahoo! in exchange for a minority stake in the combined company and a chance to close the door on one of the dumbest mergers in recent memory. AOL would get a lifeline. Beyond escaping Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) $42 billion headlock, in AOL Yahoo! would get what remains a premier player in internet advertising and a company that retains large online audiences for financial, entertainment and other content.

The hardest thing to figure here is what's happening on the other side of the deal, where Microsoft is reportedly lining up News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) for a joint bid for Yahoo!. Under that scenario, Yahoo! would be folded in with Microsoft's MSN portal and News Corp.'s MySpace unit in one mighty online ad-selling, application-bundling, social networking-ing company. That Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is thinking of climbing into business with News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch (pictured) suggests just how worried the software giant is about losing Yahoo!. But Ballmer should think twice. Murdoch has a famously keen instinct for when to buy, sell or hold a business. His interest in unloading MySpace underscores that, with the rise of FaceBook and other social networks, the Web property's best days might be behind it.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

Shares of Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) are up more than 7% today on rumors that the virtualization software vendor could be a takeover target. Citrix has been considered more of a buyer than an acquisition candidate, having last year closed a $500 million acquisition of XenSource Inc.

But now IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) are sniffing around the company, according to the rumor du jour. Avian Securities analyst Jeff Gaggin says in a research note today that Citrix has developed a virtualization management offering that has become a "real threat" to rival VMWare Inc.

Following Citrix's XenSource deal, speculation arose that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) might take an interest in the newly enlarged company, mainly because of the long-standing marketing partnership between the two companies. But Gaggin argues that Microsoft prefers keeping its relationship with Citrix at the partnership level, being distracted with its attempt to takeover Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and the development of its own internal virtualization offering.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) is recently up 54 cents to $21.15 on unconfirmed chatter Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda has taken a position in GM.

GM call option volume of 17,266 contracts compares to put volume of 11,950 contracts. GM April 22.5 straddle is priced at $2.53, May is at $4.51. GM May option implied volatility of 73 is above its 26-week average of 53 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Though tech M&A has been fairly quiet of late because of macro-economic conditions, the rumor mill is churning strong, with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) in the middle of two rumored deals.

Shares of online travel site Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) were up more than 2% Wednesday on top of Tuesday's 10% gain on rumors of a potential buyout by Google. Meanwhile, TechCrunch is reviving a rumor from last year that eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is in talks to either sell Skype to Google or the two sides would form a partnership involving the Internet phone service provider.

When we last wrote about a possible Google buy of Skype in November, we didn't think anything was imminent. After all, eBay would have been selling at a low point, having just announced the unit was underperforming. At that time, Skype's quarterly revenues were $98 million. In its last earnings report, Skype's revenues were reported at $115 million, a 76% increase versus the prior year and a 17% increase quarter-over-quarter. So it's not like Skype is a total disaster.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

As if Cleveland needed any more trouble, the two leading banks in the city are rumored to be considering a merger or even an outright sale. According to The Wall Street Journal, KeyCorp. (NYSE: KEY) may acquire National City Corp. (NYSE: NCC). Buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. could provide the capital for the buyout.

National City has had a difficult few months. The bank has a lot of exposure to the subprime mortgage market, and the company's stock has dropped from the mid $30s to about $10 in the last year. Although National City has a $1 billion stake in Visa (NYSE: V), it has laid off over 3,000 workers recently, and is likely to reduce staff even further. An acquisition by neighbor KeyCorp. would no doubt guarantee many more firings -- or "redundancies," as they say in Britain.

So far, these rumors are good news for KeyCorp, which is up nearly 5% to $24.66. For National City, it's a different story, with the stock down nearly 2% to $9.78. I guess the market thinks KeyCorp. will pick up some decent assets at fire sale prices. Let's hope that this isn't another mistake by the lake.