MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that The ServiceMaster Company (NYSE: SVM) has shelved its $1.15B sale of junk bonds that would help to pay for the LBO of the company due to "investor nervousness."
• The Wall Street Journal reported that eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) has quietly opened a classified ad site in the U.S., which would rival Craigslist.
• According to people familiar with the situation, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has approached several private-equity firms that are involved in the bidding for Cadbury Schweppes plc's (NYSE: CSG) U.S. drinks business, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) has been given clearance to sell its BlackBerry device in China, reported the New York Times.
• Big names like International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY), TCS and The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) are opting out of the bidding race for Citigroup Incorporated's (NYSE: C) BPO arm, reported the Times of India.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Amgen (AMGN), Wendy's (WEN), webMethods (WEBM), Global Crossing (GLBC) and International Securities Exchange (ISE) topped out today's noteworthy downgrades:

• A host of companies shot down Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) today:
• Lazard cut the drugmaker to Sell from Buy while Citigroup cut them to Sell from Hold. JP Morgan and HSBC downgraded Amgen to Neutral from Overweight while Morgan Stanley cut shares to Equal-Weight from Overweight.

• Elsewhere, Wendy's Int'l (NYSE: WEN) was downgraded by Citigroup to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Deutsche Bank cut shares of webMethods Inc (NASDAQ: WEBM) to Hold from Buy as they expect the software AG merger to go through.

• Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank following the company's Q1 miss and revised guidance.

• The International Securities Exchange (NYSE: ICE) was downgraded at Banc of America given potential risks to the Eurex bid. They are not counting on rival bids and recommend moving to the sidelines...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• HSBC downgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Neutral from Overweight.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded King Pharma (NYSE: KG) to Equal Weight from Overweight. Pacific

• Crest downgraded Actions Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ACTS) to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• Raymond James downgraded ServiceMaster Co (NYSE: SVM) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Soliel downgraded Tweeter Home Entertainment (NASDAQ: TWTR) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required)

Back in late November, I wrote on BloggingStocks.com that ServiceMaster Company (NYSE:SVM) was "in play" as the stock surged 10% to $13.14. At that time, the company retained Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to explore strategic alternatives.

Well, now we have a deal. The private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice says will it pay $4.8 billion for ServiceMaster. The stock jumped 12% to $15.12 on the news.

ServiceMaster is the kind of deal that is tantalizing to private equity firms. The company has a collection of top brands, such as Terminix, Merry Maids and TruGreen Chemlawn. The cash flows are also good.

As a result, it looks like there was some heavy bidding for this deal. The valuation is a rich 26X earnings. Yes, it's a pretty good bet there will not be another bid on this one.

For Clayton, it looks like the strategy is to sell off a myriad of the assets to help pay off the debt. But, in light of the valuation, it's going to take a lot of work to make this deal a winner.

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

True, it's not very exciting: lawn care and pest control. Nonetheless, it's a big business for ServiceMaster Company (NYSE:SVM). And in fact, shareholders got some excitement today as the stock price surged 10% to $13.14.

Well, the company announced it has retained Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to "explore strategic alternatives." Yes, that's the buzz-phrase for when a company wants to sell-out.

Actually, ServiceMaster would be a great candidate for private equity buyers. The company, after all, has strong brands, such as Merry Maids and Terminix. Also, revenues are growing at a decent rate and the company generates significant free cash flows.

Back in May, the company's CEO, Jonathan Ward, left the company. Ironically, he now leads the Chicago office of Lazard investment bank.

Today, ServiceMaster also had an investor presentation, which was fairly extensive. In other words, it certainly looks like ServiceMaster is very serious about enhancing shareholder returns -- and soon.

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