Being German may be key to Continental getting VDO

(Reuters) - A deal would transform the German car parts group, eclipsing
its 1998 Teves purchase that helped turn the world's No. 4
tyremaker into a leading high-margin electronic brakes supplier.
All Wennemer has to do is persuade Peter Loescher, the new
Siemens CEO, to abandon plans to float VDO and bury any thought
of a sale to TRW Automotive Holdings and its owner, The
Blackstone Group , for a reported 12 billion euros.




But first Wennemer may need to change his spots.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Continental bid for VDO nears 11 bln eur - source

(Reuters) - Continental declined comment.



Private equity firm The Blackstone Group with its U.S. car parts unit TRW Automotive Holdings Corp are also set to bid for VDO, people familiar with the matter have said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Apollo mulling private exchange listing: report

(Reuters) - Apollo, founded by former investment banker Leon Black, may take this route to bypass the scrutiny of being a public company.




As it would in an initial public offering, Apollo will be able to raise permanent capital with its Goldman Sachs exchange listing, and give its founders a way to cash out, the report said. But it will not exactly go public, as rival private equity firm Blackstone Group LP and hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC have done through listings on the New York Stock Exchange in recent months.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Akamai Technologies Will Replace Biomet in the S&P 500 Index, S&P Says

(Bloomberg) -- Akamai Technologies Inc., whose
software speeds the delivery of Internet data, will replace
Biomet Inc. in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, S&P said today
in a statement posted on its Web site.

Biomet agreed in June to an $11.4 billion takeover offer
from buyout firms including Blackstone Group LP and the private-
equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The change will take
place after the close of trading on July 11, S&P said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hilton Shares Gained Most Since 2005 Before $20 Billion Takeover Agreement

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp.'s stock price
surged prior to the announcement that the second-largest U.S.
hotel chain will be acquired by New York-based Blackstone Group
LP for about $20 billion in cash.

Hilton shares climbed $2.18, or 6.4 percent, to $36.05
yesterday in New York, their biggest rally since 2005. After the
close of trading, Blackstone, the world's biggest publicly traded
buyout firm, said it will pay $47.50 a share for Beverly Hills,
California-based Hilton.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Hilton Stock, Options Trading Surged Before Blackstone Takeover Announced

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp. shares rose the
most since the end of 2005 before the second-largest U.S. hotel
chain announced its agreement to be acquired by New York-based
Blackstone Group LP for about $20 billion in cash.

Shares of Hilton climbed $2.18, or 6.4 percent, to $36.05
yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Blackstone, the world's biggest publicly traded buyout firm, will
pay $47.50 a share for Beverly Hills, California-based Hilton.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

RPT-IPO-VIEW-MF Global poised for $4 billion IPO

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 1 - Man Group , the world's
largest listed hedge fund group, is set to stage what will
likely be the second-largest IPO on a U.S. exchange so far this
year when it spins off its U.S. brokerage arm, MF Global, this
month.




The offering could raise about $3.8 billion, putting it in
a league with Blackstone Group's high-profile $4.13
billion IPO last month. But investors are likely hoping that MF
Global's debut will not mirror the rocky entry of Blackstone
into the public markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Blackstone, Lion Seek to Increase Orangina Debt, Remove Lender Safeguards

(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP and Lion Capital
LLP are seeking 192 million euros ($259 million) of loans for
soft-drink maker Orangina that give up standard protection for
lenders, at a time when companies worldwide are abandoning
borrowing because of investor jitters.

Blackstone, manager of the world's biggest buyout fund, and
partner Lion Capital want to increase Paris-based Orangina's
debt to 1.7 billion euros, said two people involved in the
transaction. The LBO firms acquired Orangina in 2005 and plan to
pay themselves a 400 million-euro dividend, said the people, who
declined to be identified because the discussions are private.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dow Average Futures Advance as Bond Yields, Oil Drop; GM, Blackstone Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
rose after bond yields fell and oil prices dropped.

General Motors Corp. climbed after Goldman, Sachs & Co.
advised clients to buy shares of the biggest U.S. automaker
because the United Auto Workers union may offer larger-than-
expected concessions. Blackstone Group LP, the private-equity
firm valued at $38 billion after its initial public offering June
22, also gained.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

RPT-IPO-VIEW-Blackstone IPO sets stage for robust 2007

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 24 - The past week's U.S. market
for initial public offerings lacked quantity, but Thursday's
$4.13 billion offering by Blackstone Group more than made up
for it, and put the U.S. IPO market on a high note for the
first half of 2007, and likely the rest of the year.




Blackstone, the week's only major IPO, raised $1.6 billion
more than the $2.5 billion generated by initial public
offerings during the entire month of June 2006, according to
Dealogic.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RPT-IPO VIEW-Blackstone may have to cut range for IPO

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 17 - Blackstone Group LP [BG.UL]
could have to cut the expected price range for its initial
public offering in the face of possibly troublesome tax
legislation and rising bond yields, some portfolio managers and
analysts said on Friday.




Those investors expect the week's events to cut the price
guidance anywhere from 2 percent to 6 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News