UPDATE 3-TXU recommends merger approval, CEO may leave

(Reuters) - TXU in proxy materials filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission defended the $69.25-per-share offer from a
private equity group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &
Co.[KKR.UL] and Texas Pacific Group [TPG.UL].




The filing came one day after money manager Franklin
Resources Inc. , the Texas power company's largest
shareholder, said it would vote against the proposed buyout
because the offer price was too low.


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UPDATE 2-TXU recommends merger approval; CEO may leave

(Reuters) - TXU in proxy materials filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission defended the $69.25-per-share offer from a
group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co [KKR.UL] and Texas
Pacific Group [TPG.UL].




The company said the price was a "meaningful" premium to
its stock price and that it would probably not have done better
without the deal, the largest leveraged buyout in history.


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KKR plays hard ball and Wall St. winces

(Reuters) - KKR, with four major buyout deals in the debt pipeline, is refusing to budge on lending terms agreed to with investment banks, even as debt investors show a weakening appetite.




That tough stance amid shaky debt markets means banks will have to shoulder all the risk and perhaps take significant losses on the massive loans.


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DEALTALK-KKR plays hard ball and Wall St. winces

(Reuters) - KKR, with four major buyout deals in the debt pipeline, is
refusing to budge on lending terms agreed to with investment
banks, even as debt investors show a weakening appetite.




That tough stance amid shaky debt markets means banks will
have to shoulder all the risk and perhaps take significant
losses on the massive loans.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

DealTalk: KKR aims to take role of banks with IPO

(Reuters) - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said in its IPO prospectus earlier this week that the $1.25 billion offering will allow the firm to expand its ability to syndicate equity and reduce reliance on third-party sources of capital.




Syndicating leveraged buyout equity is normally the role of investment banks. Does KKR wish to cut banks entirely out of the LBO process? The answer is no, sources close to the firm say, since the firm will still rely on banks to handle the debt borrowed for the deals.


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UPDATE 1-German TV giant ProSieben buys SBS for $4.4 bln

(Reuters) - BERLIN/FRANKFURT, June 27 - German TV broadcaster
ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG said on Wednesday it bought
rival SBS Broadcasting for 3.3 billion euros to
create Europe's second-biggest television provider.




The combination of ProSiebenSat.1 and SBS, both
majority-owned by private equity firms KKR [KKR.UL] and Permira
[PERM.UL], will create a pan-European rival to market leader RTL
Group, owned by German media giant Bertelsmann [BERT.UL].


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Cadence Design in buyout talks: report

(Reuters) - Neither Cadence nor Blackstone immediately returned calls seeking comment. KKR could not immediately be reached.




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UPDATE 2-KKR, pension funds in talks to take BCE private

(Reuters) - Shares of BCE jumped 6.6 percent, or C$2.39, to C$38.65 on the Toronto Stock Exchange soon after the market opened. The stock has leapt more than 25 percent since March 28.

BCE, which has a market value of about C$29.3 billion , has long been one of Canada most widely-held companies, and taking it private would amount to the country's biggest buyout.


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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.


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