If I asked you to name two things currently in decline, you might very well say real estate and newspapers. Now, it looks like real estate brokers are kicking newspapers while they're down. According to a piece on Bloomberg, Richard A. Smith, the President of Realogy -- which owns Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, and is owned by Apollo Management -- says the company will shrink the portion of its branding budget devoted to newspapers by two-thirds next year, compared to 2006. Who looks for real estate in the newspaper anymore?

According to Smith, "It's going to be bloody. The newspaper industry is going to have to adjust."

This is just the latest in a whole series of news stories that have been coming for years demonstrating the decline and fall of the newspaper industry. Are the stocks of some top newspaper companies a good contrarian bet?

I consider myself a contrarian investor, but even I wouldn't touch these. The industry is in the midst of an accelerating downfall, and a lot of newspapers aren't earning any money now. Is there any reason to believe that the future is going to be any brighter?

As Warren Buffett has said, every time an elderly person dies, that's another newspaper reader gone who won't be replaced. Who wants to own a business where your customers die every minute and there's no one waiting in the wings to replace the revenue?

Yesterday, the private equity firm Apollo Management closed its $8.5 billion buyout of Realogy.

The firm was the result of a spinoff from Cendant in January 2006 and operates Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby's International Realty and Coldwell Banker Commercial.

The financing for the buyout looks like this:

Equity from Apollo Management	$1.99 billion
Term loan, revolving credit loan and a secured facility	$4.27 billion
Senior unsecured loan	$2.75 billion
Senior subordinated loan	$900 million
Replacement relocation receivables securitization facilities	$1.06 billion

One of the driving forces of the buyout boom is the easy credit. In fact, not only have interest rates been low – but the contractual terms on buyout debt has been loose as well.

However, with volatility in the financial markets and the meltdown in the subprime marketplace, buyout lenders are getting a little concerned.

This is a according to a recent piece in LBO Wire [a paid service].

The article points to the cases of Graham Packaging and Ply Gem Industries, Inc. Both refinanced their debts. However, the lenders added some convent protections.

There was also resistance on the financing for the $1.95 billion deal for Realogy Corporation (NYSE: H). The buyers tried to get 225 basis points over the Treasury rate – but instead got 300 basis.

No doubt, this is fairly anecdotal. The fact remains that financing is still very loose – and more and more deals will continue to get done. But, at least in some cases, lenders are pushing back.

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

Decisions, decisions.

Suppose you have a wildly successful business in an ultra hot market. Time to sell?It's probably something to consider. Well, that's certainly the state of affairs in the private equity world.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the founder of Apollo Management LP, Leon Black, is mulling these kinds of cash-out issues [subscription required]. His private equity firm is one of the largest and has done deals such as for Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: HET), Realogy Corp. (NYSE: H), and Nalco Holding Co. (NYSE: NLC).

Based on the market multiples -- such as for Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) -- it looks like he can take home about $1.5 billion selling a minority stake of 10% but still keeping control of his destiny. To me, this is having your cake and eating it too.

What's more, by selling the stake to private investors, there's no need to go through the hassles of the IPO process. In other words, Black has more time to do deals. Although, if the Apollo stock is registered – which is likely to happen – it will become publicly traded within the year.

It's an interesting structure and is typical for small companies. As for Black, he does think out of the box and the back-door IPO does make a lot of sense.

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

Haven't heard of Realogy? Well, you probably have heard of its marquee brands, such as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Corcoran Group. In fact, the company is the largest residential brokerage in the US. It was crated during the break-up of another company, Cendant.

OK, so who would want to buy into the residential real estate business?

Of course, it's the private equity crowd. Apollo Management has agreed to shell-out $6.6 billion for the company.

The share price is $30 per share, but the stock is now trading higher. In other words, Wall Street expects a higher bid, or perhaps another suitor to come to the table.

Henry Silverman is the CEO of Realogy. During the 1980s, he was a private-equity dealmaker and eventually became a partner at The Blackstone Group.

Interestingly enough, in the Realogy deal, Silverman plans to cash-out his position.

Is this a sign that the long-time dealmaker thinks private equity is hitting a top?

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