The ailing private equity market got some relief today. TPG agreed to shell out $1.3 billion for Axcan Pharma (NASADQ: AXCA). There was also debt financing from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and HSBC Holdings Plc.

Founded in the early 1980s, Axcan has built a solid franchise in the field of gastroenterology. The company's products help with things like inflammatory bowel disease, cholestatic liver diseases, and irritable bowel syndrome. Their market has been mostly in North America and Europe.

Axcan also reported its full-year results today. Revenues increased 19.4% to $348.9 million and net income was up 68.4% to $1.33 per share.

To continue the growth -- and justify the hefty valuation -- it looks like TPG will get more aggressive in global markets. In light of the company's innovative product line, this strategy should get some traction.

So far in today's trading, Axcan's stock price is up 24% to $22.55.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Walgreen, CBS Corp, SL Green Realty, Brandywine Realty Trust and Navteq were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill and to Market Perform from Outperform following its weak Q4 report. Merrill sees limited upside following the worse-than-expected quarter.
  
• CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank to reflect the company's soft rating trends and poor local advertising growth.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of SL Green Realty (NYSE: SLG) and Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) to Neutral from Buy. The firm downgraded shares of SL Green to reflect their more cautious stance on the office sector and believes uncertainty over cap rates will limit share upside, and downgraded shares of Brandywine to reflect a lack of near-term catalysts and their more cautious stance on the office sector.
  
• Navteq Corporation (NYSE: NVT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS and to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities following its acquisition by Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK).

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman Sachs removed Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• The firm downgraded Air Products & Chemicals (NYSE: APD) to Neutral from Buy and Valspar Corporation (NYSE: VAL) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• CIBC downgraded Axcan Pharma (NASDAQ: AXCA) to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer.
  
• Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill.