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.

Stock futures are higher in early morning trading, indicating to a similar start for stocks as the market anticipates the Fed decision regarding interest rates. It is, however, highly anticipated the Fed will not change rates.

It is important to note that so far, the Nasdaq futures are higher, while the S&P 500 futures aren't trading as high as their counterparts.

At 2:15 p.m. today, the Federal Reserve will release a statement, concluding the two day Federal Open Market Committee meeting. While rates are expected to remain unchanged, many would like to hear the Fed's reaction to the latest subprime mortgage market meltdown and the signs of a weakening economy. A signal from the Fed that futures rates might be cut, could help the market a lift. Anything else might further dampen weary moods on Wall Street.

The dollar was higher against the euro and the yen ahead of the Fed's meeting.

At 10:30 a.m., weekly crude inventories are due. Oil prices climbed in Asian trading today ahead of the inventories report. Traders expect gasoline supplies to show a drop.

Overseas, Asian markets closed higher and European markets are generally higher as well. The Bank of England kept its benchmark rate at a five-year high of 5.25%, although on BOE member voted for a rate cut for the first time, saying some inflation risks have diminished.

In corporate news:

Both Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) and Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) posted better than expected results after the close yesterday. ORCL shares are up 4% in pre-market trading and ADBE shares rose 3.7% in after-hours trading yesterday.

Oracle's profits climbed 35% to $1.03 billion or 20 cents per shares. Excluding one time items, Oracle posted 25 cents earnings per share, beating the 23 cents earnings per shares analysts had estimated. Revenue climbed 27% to $4.41 billion also beating analysts' forecast. The outlook management gave was positive and pleased investors.

Adobe's net income rose 37% to $143.9 million, or 24 cents a share. Excluding one time items, the company posted profit of 30 cents per share, beating the 29 cents analysts had expected. Revenue declined 1% to $649.4 million, below forecast. However, management raised its profit guidance.

Reporting today are Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) -- expected to post earnings of $1.88 a share -- and FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) -- expected to post earnings of $1.33 a share.

After closing 4.8% higher, SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) shares are gaining another 4.4% in pre-market trading following a patent licensing agreement as well as a joint venture it agreed with Hynix Semiconductor Inc. of South Korea.

Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB) reported that February revenue declined 3.4%.

EGL Inc. (NASDAQ:EAGL) has received a $40-per-share acquisition offer from Apollo Management LP, topping a bid by EGL Chief Executive Jim Crane and two investment firms.

Futures are lower in early trading, indicating to a similar start for stocks, although their direction is uncertain at the moment and stock could open flat ahead of some housing market data and the beginning of the two day Fed meeting that will result in Bernanke's statement tomorrow regarding interest rate policy.

At 8:30 a.m., before the market opens on February's building permits and housing starts. Economists predict housing starts to have recovered in February to 1.45 million from the low in of 1.41 million in January. Permits, however, are forecast to dip to 1.55 million for 1.57 the month before. After yesterday's builders' confidence level reported dropping, further weakness could rattle the market somewhat, especially as everybody awaits the Fed statement tomorrow.

Today, the Federal Reserve is starting its two day meeting to decide on the central bank's monetary policy. Tomorrow, the statement should signal investors what forces the Fed is seeing and how it will handle them, specifically with regards to interest rates. While almost all are expecting the Fed to keep rates unchanged, some think the Fed could signal the possibility of future rate cuts.

Overseas, the Bank of Japan held its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.5% seeing prices flatten, while U.K. inflation unexpectedly accelerated in February, which could cause the Bank of England to hike rates. Stocks in Asia closed mostly higher, while European stocks are trading lower.

In corporate news:

ABN Amro Holding NV (NYSE:ABN) and Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) confirmed merger discussions for an estimated stock and cash deal valued at more than $80 billion, Europe's largest-ever banking merger. Both companies' shares were higher in Europe.

Investment banks Merril Lynch (NYSE:MER) and Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS) could show some strength today after a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Enron Corp. shareholders cannot proceed with a class-action lawsuit against investment banks.

EGL Inc. (NASDAQ:EAGL) shares rose 1.7% in after-hours trading yesterday after gaining 6.3% during the session following shareholders agreement to a management-led buyout worth $1.7 billion.

Reporting today after the close are Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) and Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE). Analysts expect Adobe's earnings to come in-line with estimates of 29 cents per share on $655.3 million in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial survey. No surprises are expected from Oracle either as analysts predict earnings of 23 cents per share on $4.33 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial survey.

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.