About a year ago, the security software operator, Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALDN), was trading at about $25 per share. But with the plunge in Nasdaq and the slowing economy, the stock fell to a low of $5.85.

While the stock has come back a bit, it wasn't enough. So, this week, Aladdin decided to go private. The private equity sponsor, Vector Capital, is no stranger to such tech small-cap deals. The firm has a good sense of value for these things.

The buyout comes to about $11.50 per share or $160 million.

For the most part, Aladdin has a solid technology platform, with top clients. According to its latest quarterly report, the company posted revenues of $31.7 million, up 22% over the past year. Net income was $2.9 million, or $0.20 per share. Aladdin has also made a variety of acquisitions, such as for SafeWord and Eutronsec.

While the buyout market remains fairly dormant, there are still some deals getting done – especially for companies that are growing and have attractive valuations.

In today's trading, Aladdin's shares are up 14.58% to $11.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

The earnings crunch begins in earnest this coming week, with companies from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) to Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) and Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) scheduled to report results for the quarter just ended. But with the ongoing turmoil in the markets, much attention is on the tech and financial sectors. This week will provide plenty to mull over on both counts.

Wall Street expectations for tech stocks are fairly optimistic. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for chip maker Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) and software/service company iGate Corp. (NASDAQ: IGTE) to be the sector's biggest earnings gainers of the week. Altera is expected to report earnings of 30 cents per share (up 33.3% from a year ago) on revenue of $355.1 million. Altera had previously forecast flat sales for the quarter, and shares fell to a 52-week low last week. iGate is expected to report earnings of 14 cents per share (up 42.9%) on revenue of $55.6 million. India-based iGate recently spun off its Mastech consulting services. Shares are down 45.0% in the past three months, and also reached a new 52-week low last week.

San Jose-based Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS), on the other hand, is expected to report that net income tumbled 90.4% from a year ago to 4 cents per share, on revenue of $245.6 million. Novellus fell to a 52-week low early last week, and shares are down 44.5% year to date.