U.S. Stocks Gain for a Second Week; S&P 500 Rises Most Since April on M&A

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced, giving the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index its biggest weekly gain since April,
propelled by $50 billion in announced takeovers and reports that
signaled economic growth is accelerating.

Hilton Hotels Corp. had the top advance in the S&P 500
after agreeing to a $20 billion buyout by Blackstone Group LP, a
record purchase for the hotel industry. Exxon Mobil Corp., the
world's largest oil company, surged to an all-time peak and
helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher after crude
prices jumped above $72 a barrel.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hilton Hotels Agrees to Be Acquired by Blackstone for $20 Billion in Cash

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp., the second-
biggest U.S. hotel chain, agreed to be taken private by buyout
firm Blackstone Group LP for $20 billion, ending more than 60
years as a public company.

Blackstone will pay $47.50 for each share, Hilton said in a
statement. That's 32 percent more than its closing price
yesterday. Barron Hilton, the son of founder Conrad Hilton and
co-chairman of the Beverly Hills, California-based company, will
get $990 million for his 20.8 million shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Hilton Hotels Sells Itself to Blackstone Group for $20 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp., the second-
biggest U.S. hotel chain, agreed to be taken private by buyout
firm Blackstone Group LP for $20 billion, ending more than 60
years as a public company.

Blackstone will pay $47.50 for each share, Hilton said in a
statement. That's 32 percent more than its closing price
yesterday. Barron Hilton, the son of founder Conrad Hilton and
co-chairman of the Beverly Hills, California-based company, will
get $990 million for his 20.8 million shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Private-Equity Firms Fight Back in Congress as Champions of Common Folk

(Bloomberg) -- The managers of hedge funds and
private-equity firms, whose huge profits and lavish lifestyles
have made them a target of Congress, are fighting back by
portraying themselves as the champions of the little guy.

The Private Equity Council, a Washington-based trade
association founded by Blackstone Group LP, the Carlyle Group
and Apollo Management LP, has retained an army of lobbyists to
derail legislation that would raise their taxes.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Stocks Lose Takeover Premium as U.S. Buyouts Slump, Bond Yields Increase

(Bloomberg) -- The steepest drop in mergers and
acquisitions in 16 months is making U.S. stocks the most
expensive compared with bonds in two years.

This year's record pace of takeovers slowed by 49 percent
in June, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Delaware Investments,
the Hartford and City National Bank, which manage more than $500
billion, say the decline plus the decision by leveraged buyout
firm Blackstone Group LP to sell shares to the public are
signaling that the five-year bull market is nearing an end.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks 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

UPDATE 1-US SEC's Cox: Blackstone not investment company

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 26 - Blackstone Group LP
did not have to register as an investment company because it
simply manages funds that invest in other companies, the
chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on
Tuesday.




Wall Street analysts had expressed concerns, prior to
Blackstone's initial public offering last week, that the
private equity firm may have been on shaky ground in arguing it
was not an investment company in its prospectus.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Blackstone, Chevron, Doral Financial, Pier 1 Imports: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed on June 22. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 9:08 a.m. in New York.

Blackstone Group LP (BX US) gained 39 cents, or 0.4 percent,
to $35.45 before the official open of U.S. exchanges. The
private-equity firm may face challenges from higher taxes and a
shrinking field of takeovers, Barron's said, without citing
anyone. Blackstone stock rose $4.06 to $35.06 in its June 22
debut following a $4.13 billion initial public offering.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Blackstone, Crocs, General Motors, Salesforce, TXU: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed on June 22. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names.

Blackstone Group LP (BX US) gained 34 cents, or 1.3 percent,
to $35.40 before the official open of U.S. exchanges. The
private-equity firm may face challenges from higher taxes and a
shrinking field of takeovers, Barron's said, without citing
anyone. Blackstone stock rose $4.06 to $35.06 in its June 22
debut following a $4.13 billion initial public offering.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Blackstone Group, Crocs, Salesforce, Family Dollar: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges
tomorrow. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Blackstone Group LP (BX US): The private-equity firm may
face challenges from higher taxes and a shrinking field of
takeovers, Barron's said, without citing anyone. Blackstone
stock rose $4.06 to $35.06 in its June 22 debut following a
$4.13 billion initial public offering.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 22

(Reuters) - * Lawmakers are taking a broader look at curbing some of
the tax advantages of private-equity firms and hedge funds.
Blackstone Group raised $4.13 billion in one of Wall Street's
biggest IPOs.




* Archer Daniels Midland Co. plans to enter
Brazil's sugarcane-ethanol market, backing a rival to
corn-based ethanol made by most U.S. companies.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Blackstone to buy brokerage Alliant Insurance

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 3 - The Blackstone Group [BG.UL]
struck a deal to buy its first insurance brokerage firm, saying
on Sunday it will purchase privately held Alliant Insurance
Services Inc.




Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source close to
the process said Blackstone will pay $1.2 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 5-Blackstone sets terms for 2007's largest U.S. IPO

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 21 - Blackstone Group LP [BG.UL] on
Monday said it plans to raise as much as $4.75 billion in what
would be the year's largest U.S. initial public offering, a day
after agreeing to sell a $3 billion stake to China.




The offering comes as low debt costs spur a boom in
takeovers by private equity firms, but also amid some concern
that the industry's growth may be tough to maintain.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US financial-services sector seen ripe for buyouts

(Reuters) - This week alone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. [KKR.UL] said it would buy First Data Corp. , which processes credit card payments, for $26 billion, while Wisconsin bank Marshall & Ilsley Corp. announced on Tuesday it would separate its payment-processing unit, Metavante Corp.

Private equity firms Bain Capital and Blackstone Group [BG.UL] are also among the bidders for Ceridian Corp. , which owns payment-processing business Comdata, sources familiar with the situation said last week.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News