YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) -- implied volatility and call spike on LBO speculation.
YRCW, a transportation holding company with brands including Yellow Transportation, Roadway, Reimer Express, Meridian IQ, New Penn, USF Holland and USF Reddaway, is recently up $0.49 to $40.03 on LBO speculation. YRCW will be speaking at Merrill Lynch's Transportation Conference next week. YRCW has a market cap of $2.2 billion with $1 billion in debt. YRCW reported quarterly March 2007 revenue of $2.3 billion. YRCW call option volume of 6,382 contracts compares to put volume of 207 contracts. YRCW June option implied volatility is at 44, July is at 36 above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Biomet (NASDAQ: BMET) -- implied volatility-risk increases into June 8th shareholder vote.
BMET a designer, manufacturer and marketer of joint replacement products announced on 12/18/06 a consortium including the Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts will purchase BMET for $44 a share in cash. Institutional Shareholder Services recommended BMET holders vote down the $10.9 billion private equity deal. BMET shareholders are to vote on 6/8/07. Indiana state law requires a 75% vote for the acquisition to be approved. BMET over all option implied volatility of 17 is above its 5-month average of 12 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Option volume leaders today are: Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that President Bush picked former advisor Robert Zoellick to take over the World Bank from Paul Wolfowitz; Mr. Zoellick, now a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), was a trade representative and deputy secretary of state.
• The Institutional Shareholder Service has advised shareholders of medical device maker Biomet Inc (NASDAQ: BMET) to turn down a $10.9B private equity deal for the company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The Financial Times reported that the IntercontinentalExchange Inc (NYSE: ICE) has signed an exclusive deal with the CBOT Holdings Inc (NYSE: BOT), a move that could advance ICE's unsolicited bid for the Chicago Board of Trade.
• Rather than focus on potential take-out targets, Barron's Online's "Weekday Trader" said that the smart bet for investors is to focus on companies with rising profits, cash flows and dividends, such as Loews Corp-Carolina Group (NYSE: CG) and Imperial Tobacco Group plc (NYSE: ITY), which boast free cash and dividends.

• Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE: BBY) is in talks with Vivek for a "foray" into India, the Economic Times reported.
  
• The Washington Post reported that Nigeria filed criminal charges against Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) over child deaths.

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) announced the acquisition this morning of Swiss company Plus Orthopedics for $889 million in cash. This will solidify Smith & Nephew's position as the number 4 global player. The other three major firms are Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK), Zimmer Holdings (NYSE:ZMH), and soon to be acquired Biomet Inc. (NASDAQ:BMET). Biomet is undergoing due diligence by a group of private equity firms led by the Blackstone Group. The transaction is expected to close by October of this year.

The orthopedic sector has the wind at its back. The approval process for an orthopedic device is rigorous, but not as lengthy as the cardiac device sector. The marketplace is global in nature and the demographics are about to enter the sweet spot.

With 78 million U.S. baby boomers alone, and another 80 million-plus baby boomers in the European markets, the aging of this group is ripe for the sector. New hips, knees, elbows and shoulders will see record recipients as each year unfolds. Besides the basic joint-replacement products, the spinal sector is also expected to see massive growth. Minimally invasive surgical procedures are expanding the addressable market as the risk profile for such surgeries is significantly less. The dread of osteoporosis affects nearly 700,000 women in the United States alone.

Biomet Inc. (NASDAQ:BMET) makes a variety of medical products, such as replacements for knees and hips.

Now, a variety of private equity firms want the company to themselves: Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Texas Pacific Group. What's more, a founder of Biomet, Dane A. Miller, will also be an investor in the deal.

The price tag comes to $10.9 billion. And, it is a lofty valuation. It comes to 21X cash flows and 3.91X sales.

Then again, the company is likely to be sold-off in pieces – so as to pay down the debt load.

The stock didn't move on the news because, well, the company had been "in play" since April when it retained Morgan Stanley as its financial advisor.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.

Yet again this week, there are a variety of multi-billion dollar private equity deals. Is it too much? Will there be a blow-up?

A recent piece in Breakingviews takes a look at this, focusing on the prolific Texas Pacific Group. Over the past week, the company has been involved in the following deals: Qantas, Sabre Holdings, Biomet and Harrah's (assuming the company takes the offer).

But, hey, isn't everything bigger in Texas?

The fact is that money is piling into private equity funds. And the mission of such a fund is simple: buy companies. But with this deal frenzy, might these firms be getting sloppy? Should they be more patient?

Perhaps. But keep in mind that mega funds have the resources to hire top-notch analysts. These analysts then scour thousands of companies, writing up profiles. By the time a company is "in play," the private equity firm is ready to pull the trigger.

But history shows that booms tend to be followed by busts. And by any indication, private equity is certainly in the boom phase -- at least for now. It's the bust phase that I'm worried about.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.