Phone Company Deal Irks Would-Be Bidders

PHONE COMPANY DEAL IRKS WOULD-BE BIDDERS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
The Alltel Corporation’s agreement to go private in a $27.5 billion deal, the largest leveraged buyout ever in the telecommunications industry, is not sitting well with some other private equity firms that were lined up to bid for the company. The agreement for Alltel, the wireless service provider, to be acquired by a consortium including the Texas Pacific Group and a unit of Goldman Sachs effectively short-circuits the auction process, in which other groups had hoped to participate. Among them were the Blackstone Group, with Providence Equity Partners, and the Carlyle Group, with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company. The lack of a formal auction may also raise questions among some Alltel shareholders about whether they received the highest price possible.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/technology/22alltel.html
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* Alltel Deal Takes Some Bidders by Surprise
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/21/AR2007052101585.html