Fortune, which shares a parent, Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), with BloggingStocks, struck out this week. What I mean is that it published three articles -- each of which I think completely missed the boat. I really like when Fortune gets an in-depth interview with interesting business leaders. But sometimes, it goes too far praising its subjects.

That may have been what happened in the three stories where I think Fortune whiffed:

• Providence Equity Partners. Fortune had a cover story praising Providence Equity Partners for closing the biggest private equity deal ever. Unfortunately, as I posted, that $52 billion deal fell apart this week. To be fair, Fortune updated its online version of the article with this information. Strike One.
• Bernanke saves the day. Fortune posted an article praising Bernanke for stopping the slide in the stock market with his fast interest rate cuts and emergency lending. This week that illusion was burst as the Dow lost 507 points. Strike Two.

Continue reading Fortune strikes out

Fortune strikes out originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 May 2008 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looked like the deal to take BCE (NYSE: BCE), the parent of Bell Canada, private would be hung up by the unwillingness of banks to take on huge amounts of debt during a credit crisis. Instead, the $35.4 billion deal will probably be killed by the Canadian courts.

Some BCE shareholders sued the company, saying the deal was unfair to them. The debt holders who brought the suit may be fools, but they won. According to Reuters, "the Quebec Court of Appeal said that BCE, Canada's largest telecommunications group, failed to prove that a buyout could have been structured to provide a satisfactory price for the company's shares while avoiding an adverse effect on the debenture holders."

If the entire deal for the BCE buyout fails, all parties who hold a piece of the company may be hurt. But, the debt holders have certainly put the stockholders in a very ugly place. The court ruling may give banks some excuses to walk away from the transaction. Providence Equity Partners, Madison Dearborn, and other institutions who put the deal together may have to watch all of those fees disappear in smoke.

And, a buyout that normally would have ended up in court because banks wanted to break their words may be killed because one class of stakeholders bested another.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 newsletter.

The biggest buyout ever blocked by Canada courts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 May 2008 04:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If we needed another sign that private equity is passe, we need go no further than to look at the current issue of Fortune, which shares a parent, Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), with BloggingStocks. To be fair, Fortune added an update to its web site about the tottering deal. It's a shame because the Fortune article paints such a glowing portrait of Providence Equity Partner's CEO Jonathan Nelson and praises him for doing the biggest deal ever -- the $51 billion takeover of Bell Canada parent BCE (NYSE: BCE) whose stock is down 5.7% this morning.

Regrettably for Nelson and Fortune, the New York Times reports this morning that the deal looks to be imperiled. It quotes one executive who read the revised bank terms: "It's patently obvious that the banks have no intention of closing the deal." These banks -- led by Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Deutsche Bank, and the Royal Bank of Scotland -- sent revised terms to the consortium of buyers. which included higher interest rates, tighter loan restrictions and stronger protections for the banks, far exceeding the original terms.

Fortune has a photo of Nelson sitting in a comfortable chair with his hands in a position that communicates "I am smarter than you." It will be interesting to see whether he can use those smarts to close this $51 billion deal. If he does, then he will certainly deserve the encomiums that Fortune heaps on him. Fifteen months ago I appeared on CNBC to discuss whether private equity had peaked. I think Fortune's Private Money 2008 package answers that question in the affirmative -- with the cover story jinx.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns Citigroup shares and has no financial interest in the other securities mentioned.

Is the bell tolling for Providence Equity Partners' $51 billion Bell Canada buyout? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 May 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.