It's been a tough fight for the buyout of EGL Inc. (NASDAQ: EAGL). Apollo Management and the company's CEO, James Crane, have been bidding against each other for the past five months or so.

But it looks like we have a deal. That is, EGL has agreed to a $2 billion offer from Apollo.

Making things easier, Apollo also owns Ceva. As a result, the combined EGL-Ceva will create a much bigger logistics company.

However, Crane is not giving up. If you check out a filing with the SEC, top executives at EGL are alleging that another executive provided confidential information to Apollo.

Well, litigation is pretty common in such things. So, I suspect we'll see a complaint filed.

But, in the end, Apollo had a higher price and that should mean the deal will finally get done.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

EGL (NASDAQ: EAGL) is not in a sexy business; that is, the company is a freight forwarder and logistics specialist. Boring, huh?

Not to Apollo Management. The firm is determined to buy the company and has made a third bid for its shares. The latest is for $46 and that translates into a valuation of about $1.89 billion.

The problem has been that EGL's CEO – Jim Crane -- has also been trying to buy the company. His latest bid was for $45 per share.

But try not to feel too sorry for him. He and his investors get a $30 million termination fee if the deal falls through. Oh, and he also owns 18% of the company.

On the news of the Apollo bid, the stock price of EGL climbed $3.08 to $45.79 per share. The low spread between the market price and the offer indicate that there may be an even higher bid in the offing.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Private equity firm Apollo Management has lots of discipline when it comes to valuations on its buyouts. So when the firm competes on a deal, the valuation is usually pretty low.

Back in March, a group of investors -- CEO of EGL (James Crane) as well as private equity firms Centerbridge Partners LP and Woodbridge Co. -- made a $38 per share offer for EGL (NASDAQ: EAGL).

According to Apollo, it was left out in the cold. Not to be outdone, the firm made its own offer. It was certainly much better at $43 per share or $2 billion, compared to the earlier offer of $38 a share.

Apollo controls Ceve, which is in the warehousing business. It should have synergies with EGL, which is in the freight forwarding industry.

Well, as should be no surprise, EGL's special committee likes the Apollo offer much better, calling it "superior."

And it looks like it's the end of the bidding. EGL's stock price is up only $0.09 to $42.30.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

James Crane, who is the CEO and founder of EGL, Inc. (NASDAQ:EAGL), has what most successful entrepreneurs posses: That is, persistence.

In January, EGL announced a $1.65 billion buyout. Then in early February, there was another announcement: The deal was a no-go. It fell apart when the private equity investor, General Atlantic, got spooked about EGL's financials.

Crane managed to put the pieces back together -- even though EGL did have a weak fourth quarter. Net income fell from $19 million to $10.9 million. Revenues were up about 2.7%.

The new deal is for $36 per share and the private equity sponsors include Centerbridge Partners and The Woodbridge Co.

EGL is a freight forwarding company, sensitive to the overall economy. If the US economy is slowing down, it certainly would not be good for EGL. Some of the other headwinds include the weak real estate market and auto sector.

In other words, it's definitely an impressive performance from Crane.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

In early January, EGL Inc. (NASDAQ:EAGL) announced it was going private in a $1.65 billion transaction. The company is a major air shipper, focused on heavy cargo.

The company's founder and CEO, James Crane, was going to roll-in his 18% equity stake and even invest more in the buyout transaction. All in all, it was a good sign.

Well, this week, the private equity investor in the deal, General Atlantic LLC, bailed out. The reason? The firm was disappointed with EGL's fourth-quarter numbers.

On the news, the stock price plunged 18%.

But Crane is not giving up. He is searching for other backers.

No doubt, there is a large number of private equity firms looking for deals. However, they will certainly be skeptical. After all, it's not often something like this happens.

As a result, however, trying to get a purchase price back at $36 may be difficult.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Nice start to the New Year for shareholders of EGL Inc. (NASDAQ:EAGL). The stock price surged 27% to $38.10.

The company, which is a freight forwarder, has announced it is going private. The buyers include the company's CEO, James R. Crane (who owns about 18%), as well as General Atlantic, which is a private equity firm.

The second half of 2006 was particularly rough for EGL. The company posted weak revenues and the stock price got crushed.

Yes, it looks like Crane, who is also the founder of the company, senses a value play. What's more, the company generates substantial free cash flows -- which always makes things easier when doing a buyout deal.

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

Upgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Career Education (CECO) tops today's modest-sized upgrade summary. UBS upgraded Career Education to Neutral from Reduce following the resignation of its CEO, John M. Larson.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Robert W. Baird upgraded EGL Inc. (EGL) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation and expectations for re-accelerating top-line growth. They also increased EGL's target to $44 from $40.
• Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Transaction System (TSAI) to Buy from Neutral based on the expectations for favorable guidance and recommended investors build positions.
• Lear (LEA) was upgraded by UBS to Neutral from Reduce citing a less bearish outlook after the stock's recent move downward.

Downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Credit Suisse downgraded J.C. Penney (JCP) to Underperform from Neutral based on the risks associated from the company's transition from a margin recovery story to an incremental investment growth story.
• Casino-entertainment provider Harrah's (HET) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan, citing lagging growth trends in the Las Vegas and Atlantic City markets.
• RBC Capital Markets downgraded the global technology services company Electronic Data Systems (EDS) to Underperform from Outperform this morning. The downgrade was based on the disruptive impact from increased offshore employee mix, overhangs from option grant investigations and lawsuits, and ongoing restructuring and start-up costs.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• MasterCard (MA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Soleil Securities based on valuation. The firm recommended investors swap out of Mastercard and move into American Express (AXP).
• A.G. Edwards downgraded Altria Group (MO) to Hold from Buy citing the uncertain timing of the break-up after the Schwab case "setback."
• Finally, the tax preparation company Jackson Hewett (JTX) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight by Morgan Stanley, citing additional competition and pricing within the industry.

Research provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Thinking of taking up golf to improve your chances of climbing the corporate ladder? Better think twice.

Hitting the links could soon become a sore subject in corporate boardrooms, thanks to a new study by USA Today that looks at the stock prices of companies where the CEO is listed among the top golfers in Golf Digest magazine. Apparently, having a CEO who enjoys a good game of golf does more to hamper than help a company's share price.

USA Today reports that eight of the 12 companies who have CEOs with the lowest golf handicaps have performed worse than the S&P 500.

Should this really be a surprise? Any duffer or golf widow (of which I am a very occasional member of that club) knows that golf is a colossal waste of time. It usually doesn't make for a very good workout. Furthermore, participants often end up in a foul mood and suffering from a crippling lack of confidence.

What could be worse for business?

Of course, when you examine the companies listed -- EGL (shipping), UPS (package delivery), and Dollar General, to name a few -- it's pretty clear that their stock slump this year has a lot more to do with being in economically sensitive industries than having a CEO who shoots near par.

CEOs interviewed by USA Today are quick to explain that they only golf on the weekends or vacations and find it a valuable way to relax (yeah, right -- golf has to be the least relaxing game on the planet). They say there is no correlation between golf and the stock performance. But 71% admit they've done business with someone they played golf with.

Maybe playing golf is, in fact, a good way to get ahead in the corporate world. But once you reach the the CEO level, best to keep your sticks locked in the car trunk where they belong.