There is a great article in today's New York Times discussing the titans of the buyout world and the current circumstances that they find themselves in.  Whereas most of the brouhaha over the past quarter has centered around either the sub-prime fiasco or the inability to place debt for PEG's "mega deals," this article discusses the current state of the deals that got done. 

Here are some of the great takeaways... 

Apax Partners and the private-equity investment arm of Morgan Stanley will buy Chicago insurance brokerage Hub International Ltd. for approximately $1.7 billion, it was announced today. The group will pay Hub $40 per share, a 16% premium over the shares' Friday close. Hub provides insurance and employee benefit services to medium-sized companies and derives one-quarter of its business in Canada.

RR Donnelley announced yesterday that it was acquiring Pro Line Printing, Inc. for $122m.  The companies entered into a definitive purchase agreement, which is subject to a number of closing conditions.

Why Buy Pro-line?

This is another very traditional acquisition: RRD is looking to expand geographically in a specific vertical - in this case newspaper inserts.  Pro Line is a multi-facility

When we originally looked at the AMN - Platinum Select acquisition, we only had revenue numbers for Platinum.  At $52m in revenue and $50m purchase price, the deal priced at nominally 1x revenues. 

Now we see, according the the AMN press release, that Platinum had an EBITDA of $4.0m for the year ended December 31, 2007.  This puts the transaction at 12.5x EBITDA (again, no full balance sheet to

We are pleased to announce that Brian Burke joined Clear Rock Associates as a Director in 2008. Brian will be heading our Insurance practice area.

Brian brings a wealth of M&A experience, with particular focus on financial services and insurance industries. He brings with him 8 years of experience assisting middle market companies identify strategic alternatives. His expertise includes analysis

Roadlink announced this week that they have acquired West Coast Trucking (WCT).  Roadlink is an Atlanta based firm, while WCT's operations are primarily in Seattle and Oregon.  Both are intermodal service providers.

What Happens to the Employees in an M&A Deal?

This seems to be a question that we field more and more.

AMN Healthcare services announced friday that is would acquire Platinum Select- a travel nurse related staffing firm.

What it Means

The trend continues.  Platinum deal is in the $50m range- which includes a portion paid as an earnout for future performance.

So it would appear that Microsoft - largely a stranger to mega-sized M&A transactions - is ready to knuckle down for a fight.

In a slowly unfolding drama, Yahoo has spruned Microsoft's takeover offer and is now in discussions with Rupert Murdock's Newscorp regarding "strategic options." 

It could be that this is fast becoming a trend: 2 staffing companies at auction on Chapter 7 / 11 proceedings in less than a month. This time around, we see Axium go under the gavel for $8m to MPS Group, Inc.

Take Aways

An argument could certainly be made that the industry is in for a bit of a dust-up as the economy sags.

According to the latest report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, transportation and logistics M&A deals closed at a 20 year high. The firm reported 1,291 deals for the year- topping the record setting 2006 pace.