Filed under: Deals, The Blackstone Group, Rumors, Private equity industry, Investments, Activist investing

This morning we have several pieces that are key for buyout and private equity investors alike. Deals are continuing as you’ll see below, but they are not as traditional in public to public deals, and private equity deals will be looking different than 2007 (duh!). Here is a digest of some of the deals:

Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: NFS) has received a buyout offer from its parent company, which already controls the company via a Class B share ownership. This will end up being a mutual insurance company again rather than a stock insurance company. At least that is the case if it concurs to be bought.

Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM) received a buyout offer from EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) that would be for $3.25, although the board has snubbed the offer. If you look at the history you’ll comprehend why.

The Blackstone Group, L.P. (NYSE: BX) posted earnings this morning that were under estimates and actually were a net loss after charges. You’ll want to see the comments from Steve Schwarzman, because this will show you the tone for 2008 in private equity land. At least they’ve a good dividend now…..

A complicated-sounding deal came this morning, that’s really in essence not complicated. White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM) is essentially buying back a 16% stake held by none other than Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A).

The rumors or speculation surrounding Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) are continuing, yet it is having nearly no net impact on the stock. Speculators have been noting Carlos Slim of Mexico might want to bundle this one or that even Deutsche Telecom (NYSE: DT) may want to bundle it up either in a buyout or in a strategic investment of sorts.

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Filed under: Rants and raves, Scandals, Media World, Politics, Headline news

Pushing aside many other newsworthy stories this day is one more very sad tale about a do-gooder gone bad. This day it was learned that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer (and former Attorney General) has displayed the ultimate in hypocrisy that’ll leave a stench so thick it will tarnish not just his reputation, but that of every public official. An already cynical public can only become even more cynical now.

It is being reported that Governor Spitzer engaged the services of a New York prostitution ring in advance of a trip to Washington DC. I will not get on my own moralist high horse about the subject of prostitution, although, I could probably comprehend the arguments in favor of it being legalized. However, this is much greater than that. This is a question of hypocrisy, illegal activity, betraying a public trust, lying, cheating and stealing.

If the facts play out as initially reported, then he has betrayed his family, friends, business associates and the public. This made all the worse by his self-aggrandizing and many would argue overzealous approach to chasing Wall Street executives up a tree and then leveraging the chase to build a platform for his now shamed office of Governor.

If Mr. Spitzer were single and a private citizen, we could debate a whole range of other issues. But given his history, and moralizing and de-moralizing others — to state the obvious — this stinks to the high heavens.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

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Filed under: Law, Headline news

The New York Times reports that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer will give a press conference this afternoon to announce his involvement with a prostitution ring. This is something I would anticipate to see on the cover of a tabloid, not the Times.

Spitzer informed his most senior administration officials that he’d been involved in a prostitution ring. Just last week, federal prosecutors arrested four people in connection with an high-priced prostitution operation. Administration officials wouldn’t say that this was the ring with which the governor had become involved.

Stay tuned for Spitzer’s press conference for word on whether any of those four people implicated Spitzer or whether Spitzer will resign. No word on how his wife and three kids feel. In January, Vanity Fair wrote after reviewing Spitzer’s tough first year in office “Ask Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money, Spitzer’s pal from Harvard Law School, about the guy [Spitzer] and he’s uncharacteristically speechless.” No doubt Cramer would also be speechless about Spitzer’s latest news.

Update: The Associated Press reports that court papers indicate that Spitzer was a client of Emperors Club VIP, the prostitution ring mentioned above. The Times reports that Spitzer was identified as the ‘Client 9′ in a wiretap who met with a prostitute in a hotel room 871 — believed to be Washington, D.C.’s Mayflower Hotel on February 13.

In a statement Spitzer said, in part, “I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my - or any - sense of right and wrong. I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better.” He did not take questions.

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Filed under: Finance, World wide web, Web services

It can be hard to build your credit history if you don’t have a mortgage, car loan, student loans, or credit card bills to pay off. But odds are you’re making other payments on a regular basis, like your rent and utility bills. They just don’t usually count as far as credit history goes.

PRBC is a service that helps make those other payments count. PRBC symbolizes Payment Reporting Builds Credit, and your PRBC info can become part of your FICO score. So all you’ve to do to build your credit history is keep paying your monthly bills on time. In order to participate, you need to either have your financial institutions send info to PRBC or pay a fee so that PRBC can verify transactions you enter on the internet site.

But starting today, there’s an easier way. You can sign up for PRBC through Billeo, and on the internet bill paying service. Billeo is free, but users who opt into PRBC will be charged a one-time fee of $5. Once you’re signed up, each time you pay a bill using Billeo’s free web-based service the company will track your payments and send the information to PRBC/Fair Isaac.

Billeo doesn’t store your sensitive financial data online. Instead it’s encyrpted and saved on your computer, while PRBC as a “consumer reporting agency” is legally required to comply with federal and say privacy laws.

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