Scott Black of Delphi Management mentioned in this weekend's Barron's that the spread between investment grade debt and Treasuries is just 83 basis points, the tightest in nine years.

Black went on to say that the private equity boom is not too different from the leverage buyout boom from 1980.

However, there are some differences between today and the 1980's. The debt level used in the corporate-raider-buyout boom of Perlman, Peltz, May et al was substantially higher than today. Ten percent was often the maximum equity put down. Today, equity contributions average 20% to 25% and in some cases have been in the 30% area.

The other difference is that as multiples have expanded, the equity contribution has also gone up. This is due to both more experienced PE fund managers, many of whom began their careers in the 1980s, and also operating managers of these companies are requiring a larger equity component. The guys left operating these businesses do not want to be stuck with unmanageable balance sheets.

But Black's comments are worth noting. While private-equity deal structures are more conservative, banks are opening the lending spigot. The excess in this market appears more on the lending side then the deal structure side. Both the private equity funds and operating managers have remained disciplined so far.

It's been a very tough year for shareholders of Eddie Bauer (NASDAQ: EBHI). Back in December 2005, the stock was trading for about $23 a share. Now the company has decided to go private – at $9.25. The private equity investors include Sun Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital.

The price certainly offers a measly premium for shareholders. In fact, the stock is up only 1.5% on the news.

Then again, Eddie Bauer is in the midst of a turnaround. Perhaps by going private the company can take the tough medicine it needs to fix things up.

Given the low price, might there be competing bids? Probably not. Keep in mind that when Eddie Bauer put the "for sale" sign on the company in May, there was very little interest among investors.

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

Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE), founded in 1939, may be mulling a leveraged buyout. The Financial Times has reported the rumor. Moreover, there has been strong volume in Sara Lee's stock options, as well as credit swaps.

Although, the stock price has been tepid today -- up 2% to $16.38.

Option buying is becoming a precursor to a variety of LBO deals, such as the $15 billion transaction for Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: HET).

Actually, Sara Lee has been in the midst of a restructuring (announced in February of 2006). Despite several sell-offs of assets, the company's stock price has been lackluster.

Maybe the company can juice things up by going private? And, while private, make the hard choices to improve the performance of the company? Well, some investors are already making that bet in the derivatives market.

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

During the past week, two tech companies decided to go private: Intergraph ($1.3 billion) and Embarcadero Technologies Inc. ($234 million).

Well, these deals are small-time compared to the possible buyout of Freescale Semiconductor. This is according to a NY Times article, which pegs the valuation of the transaction at $16 billion. This would exceed the $11.3 billion deal for SunGard Data Systems.

Actually, this is not the only semiconductor company to be targeted for a buyout. In August, both KKR and Silver Lake purchased the semiconductor unit of Royal Philips Electronics for 3.4 billion euros.

Basically, it looks like the semiconductor industry is poised for strong growth. After all, with the growth in things like iPods and cell phones, there is a need for semiconductors.

As for Freescale, it had revenues of about $5.8 billion for the past year. Also, it has big-time customers like Motorola, Cisco, Ford, and General Motors.

Of course, for investors, it will be tough to make money on Freescale, as the stock price soared on the news. True, there may be outside bidders. But, for the most part, private equity firms do not like to get into a bidding frenzy – at least not so far.

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

Once upon a time, back in the late 1980s, management of RJR decided to buyout the company. It did not take long until other buyers came to the table – as the stock price soared. The deal eventually turned into history's biggest leverage buyout (LBO). The drama became a best-selling book, Barbarians at the Gate, as well as an HBO movie.

Could the same story be developing at HCA, which recently decided to an LBO? Well, according to a Wall Street Journal story, it appears that the Blackstone Group, which is a top private equity firm, is in the early stages of making a bid.

It would not be cheap. After all, it will need to top the existing offer of $21.3 billion. Even in the universe of master dealmakers, this is still a lot of dough.

Does this mean investors should buy HCA stock? Not really. Blackstone still needs to arrange financing, as well as bring other private equity firms to the table.

Besides, Wall Street pros are skeptical that a bidding war will break out, as the stock price is below the existing $51 offer.

I'm always leery to say "this time is different." But those who are running mega private equity firms are seasoned (such as Henry Kravis of KKR). Some still remember the excesses of the late 1980s and do not want to repeat them.

It's certainly good news for private equity firms, which are likely to get good deals on companies. But, as for public shareholders, they probably will not get nice premiums on these deals.