DealBook: Chief of AOL's Parent Is Open to a Deal

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Edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES | Wednesday, March 12, 2008 M & A: Approval of DoubleClick Deal May Help Microsoft BANKING: Fed Hopes to Ease Strain on Economic Activity PRIVATE EQUITY: Gore Raises $5 Billion for Investment Fund HEDGE FUNDS: London Fund Faces Charges in Switzerland OFFERINGS: How KKR Could Pull the I.P.O. Plug VENTURE CAPITAL: V.C.'s Throw $55 Million into Highwinds LEGAL: The Spitzer Hit List TOP STORY Chief of AOL's Parent Is Open to a Deal AOL, the company that introduced millions of people to the Internet, has tried to reinvent itself many times. The latest effort, like those before it, does not seem to be going well. On Tuesday, Jeffrey L. Bewkes, the chief executive of Time Warner, AOL's parent company, acknowledged weakness in the business and said he was open to combining AOL with another company -- "whatever configuration makes it the strongest and the most valuable." But he may have been soft-pedaling what seems to be an increasingly troublesome situation at AOL, which has bet its future on a new strategy of selling advertising across the Internet and has spent more than $1 billion on related acquisitions. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment ADVERTISEMENT Back to Top MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Google said it closed its acquisition of DoubleClick after the deal won approval from European regulators. Analysts said the decision in Europe could strengthen Microsoft's argument that it should be allowed to buy Yahoo, were it to succeed in its takeover battle with that company. Go to Article from The New York Times» Go to Item from DealBook» Go to Article from CNet News.com» Read More Add a comment As Microsoft covets Yahoo's search business, The 451 Group argues that it should also consider another deal: the sale of its lagging enterprise-software unit. Go to Report from The 451 Group» Read More Add a comment Facing a takeover bid from rival Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive sought to assure Wall Street investors on Tuesday that it is capable of growing on its own. Meanwhile, two major Take-Two shareholders have slashed their stakes in the video-game maker. Go to Article from The New York Times» Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment BNP Paribas could set out terms for any offer for embattled rival Societe Generale in May, La Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday without saying where it got the information. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Go to Previous Article from The Associated Press via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Top U.S. refining company Valero Energy said on Tuesday it is considering selling nearly a third of its North American refineries amid a U.S. economic slowdown that is crimping fuel demand. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, Bank of China and Malaysia's Malayan Banking Bhd have emerged as the final bidders for Singapore state investor Temasek's stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia, valued at more than $800 million, Reuters reported. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Chinese medical device maker Mindray Medical Tuesday said it planned to buy Datascope's patient monitoring business for $202 million in cash. Go to Article from The New Jersey Star-Ledger» Read More Add a comment Back to Top INVESTMENT BANKING The Federal Reserve on Tuesday offered to let the biggest investment banks on Wall Street borrow up to $200 billion in Treasury securities in exchange for hard-to-sell mortgage-backed securities as collateral. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Bear Stearns shares pared losses late Tuesday after securities regulators said they were comfortable with capital levels at the largest U.S. investment banks, including Bear. Analysts, however, continued to cut their targets for the troubled investment bank. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Go to Related Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Neal Shear, who formerly ran Morgan Stanley's sales and trading business before being demoted last November, has left the securities firm, according to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News. Go to Article from The Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)» Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Read More Add a comment Lazard said Tuesday that it has hired Brendan Dyson as a managing director in its corporate finance advisory group, based in San Francisco. Mr. Dyson was previously a managing director at Piper Jaffray and led that firm's convertible securities group. Go to Lazard Press Release» Read More Add a comment Back to Top PRIVATE EQUITY The sustainable investment firm run by Al Gore is about to be closed to new investors, having raised close to its $5 billion target. Go to Article from Bloomberg/Reuters via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Sovereign wealth fund assets may soon surpass total official foreign reserves held by central banks and become the main vehicle for capital investment, a Morgan Stanley economist said on Tuesday. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Taking a look at the situation surrounding Carlyle Group's listed fund, Carlyle Capital, Breakingviews finds it odd that the buyout shop known for its diversified and sophisticated investing is now watching as its affiliate finds itself on the brink. Go to Article from Breakingviews» Go to Related Article from Financial News» Read More Add a comment As the New York Public Library prepares to name a building after Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, DealBook looks at some other edifices and the Wall Street names that adorn them. Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment Back to Top HEDGE FUNDS Laxey Partners, the activist British hedge fund, is facing a possible criminal prosecution in Switzerland after the country's banking regulator said it had breached disclosure laws while building a 23 percent stake in a local construction company. Go to Article from The Times of London» Read More Add a comment Media General will meet with Harbinger Capital Partners, the hedge fund seeking to improve profitability by nominating directors to the board at the family-owned newspaper publisher and television station operator. Go to Article from The Associated Press via The Houston Chronicle» Read More Add a comment The Citadel Investment Group, the Chicago-based hedge fund and financial services group, has hired a portfolio manager from London hedge fund Moore Capital Management to manage global macro strategies. Go to Article from Financial News» Read More Add a comment Back to Top I.P.O. / OFFERING Kohlberg Kravis Roberts's proposed initial public offering is still in limbo. The Deal Professor considers how the buyout firm could pull the offering, save face and stay on the right side of securities laws. Go to Item from The Deal Professor» Read More Add a comment The European initial public offering volume this year is at its lowest level for five years and there is nothing in the pipeline for April and May, as volatile markets continue to shake investor confidence, according to Thomson Financial. Go to Article from Financial News» Read More Add a comment BlackRock, the U.S. money manager, said on Tuesday it is planning to launch a London-listed closed-end fund of hedge funds that will offer exposure to its $11 billion (5.5 billion pound) Appreciation Strategy. Go to Article from Reuters» Read More Add a comment The chief executive of Time Warner, Jeffrey Bewkes, signaled Tuesday that he was leaning toward a spin off of Time Warner Cable, saying that the cable business might perform better for shareholders if it were not "locked to the rest of the businesses." Go to Article from The Hollywood Reporter» Go to Article from BetaNews» Read More Add a comment Back to Top VENTURE CAPITAL Highwinds Network Group on Tuesday said it closed a $55 million round of venture financing led by General Catalyst Partners and Alta Communications. Go to Article from The Red Herring» Read More Add a comment Pixim, a maker of visual surveillance chips, has raised $21.6 million in a new round of funding, VentureBeat reported. Go to Article from VentureBeat» Read More Add a comment Back to Top LEGAL In his eight years as New York's attorney general, Eliot L. Spitzer drew praise as an aggressive reformer but also racked up a slew of enemies. DealBook compiled a list of those who will likely shed no tears if Mr. Spitzer -- who once described himself as a human "steamroller" -- is forced to step down as New York's governor, which seemed increasingly likely Tuesday. Go to Item from DealBook» In hiring a legal defense team, Mr. Spitzer is turning to a name he's familiar with: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment The testimony on the second day of a trial to settle a dispute over the control of IAC/InterActiveCorp reduced a clash between media titans Barry Diller and John C. Malone to a debate about detail. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Alabama's Jefferson County is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy after a series of exotic bond deals that its Wall Street bankers concocted went wrong, and the interest on its debts, rather than shrinking as the bankers had promised, has ballooned like a bad subprime mortgage. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Law firm Milberg Weiss, set to go on trial later this year on charges of paying illegal kickbacks to clients, was the top-ranked U.S. class-action firm last year with $3.8 billion in settlement winnings for plaintiffs, according to a new report. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Michael Frishberg, a former partner in Kirkland & Ellis' restructuring department, has joined Kurtzman Carson Consultants, a claims and noticing agent for companies undergoing restructuring. Go to Kurtzman Carson Press Release» Read More Add a comment Get home delivery of The New York Times for as low as $3.15 a week.

SEARCH DEALBOOK SITE DealBook | E-mail Preferences Help | Advertising Opportunities Hostility in Tech-Land Larry Ellison may deserve much of the credit for breaking down Silicon Valley's stigma on hostile bids. More» Spitzer Schadenfreude Many Wall Streeters were taking pleasure in the scandal around New York's governor, who aggressively policed the Street in his previous job. (80 comments) More» Revolving Door The latest hires, promotions and departures at Goldman, Bear, Cowen and more. More» The Deal Professor A blog-within-a-blog that looks at mergers, private equity and corporate governance through a legal lens, written by Steven M. Davidoff, a professor at Wayne State University Law School and a former lawyer at Shearman & Sterling. More» Live From Super Return 2008 Some of the biggest names in private equity gathered in Munich to share strategies for weathering the industry's recent downturn. More» DealBook Talks Yahoo DealBook's Andrew Ross Sorkin discussed Microsoft's offer for the Internet giant on "Charlie Rose." Watch here. More» Microsoft's Yahoo Bid Full coverage of Microsoft's unsolicited $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo, what it means and how it might play out. More» DealBook for BlackBerry For readers who are BlackBerry addicts, we now offer DealBook for BlackBerry. With one-click access to DealBook -- formatted for your device -- it's easy to check the latest deal news throughout the day. You can install the DealBook shortcut by visiting mobile.nytimes.com/bbinstall directly from your BlackBerry or by sending the text message "bb install" to 698698. More information on DealBook for BlackBerry. News By Industry Airlines / Autos Basic Industries Consumer Goods Energy / Utilities Financial Services Food & Beverage Healthcare Media Real Estate Retail / Leisure Technology Telecom Tools & Resources GET QUOTES Look Up Symbol RESEARCH SUITE Portfolio Company Research U.S. Markets International Markets Mutual Funds SEND A TIP OR FEEDBACK E-mail us at dealbook@nytimes.com Dealboard

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