UPDATE 1-AFL-CIO seeks more disclosure for KKR, Och-Ziff

(Reuters) - In a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
the AFL-CIO said KKR, a private equity firm, and Och-Ziff, a
hedge fund, clearly fall under the investment company act.




The firms have filed for IPOs after private equity firm
Blackstone Group LP successfully went public in late
June.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-DJO to be bought by ReAble Therapeutics

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 16 - Knee and ankle brace maker DJO Inc. said on Monday it agreed to be bought by medical device maker ReAble Therapeutics Inc. for about $1.6 billion including debt, in a bid to increase its market share.



The cash offer of $50.25 per share by ReAble, which is controlled by private equity Blackstone Group . represents a 19 percent premium over DJO's Friday closing price of $42.10.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Akamai Technologies Will Replace Biomet in the S&P 500 Index, S&P Says

(Bloomberg) -- Akamai Technologies Inc., whose
software speeds the delivery of Internet data, will replace
Biomet Inc. in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, S&P said today
in a statement posted on its Web site.

Biomet agreed in June to an $11.4 billion takeover offer
from buyout firms including Blackstone Group LP and the private-
equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The change will take
place after the close of trading on July 11, S&P said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

No windfall likely for Paris from big Hilton sale

(Reuters) - Paris and other descendants of her great grandfather Conrad Hilton -- who started the hotel group in 1919 when he bought a small hotel in Cisco, Texas -- are expected to get little from the buyer, private equity firm Blackstone Group.




That's because the family has little stake left in the company and what's remaining is expected to ultimately go to charity.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Hilton Stock, Options Trading Surged Before Blackstone Takeover Announced

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp. shares rose the
most since the end of 2005 before the second-largest U.S. hotel
chain announced its agreement to be acquired by New York-based
Blackstone Group LP for about $20 billion in cash.

Shares of Hilton climbed $2.18, or 6.4 percent, to $36.05
yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Blackstone, the world's biggest publicly traded buyout firm, will
pay $47.50 a share for Beverly Hills, California-based Hilton.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Canada Stocks Poised to Extend Gains on Buyouts; Telus Shares May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise for a third
day after Blackstone Group LP's buyout of Hilton Hotels Corp.
spurred more takeover speculation.

Telus Corp. may pace gains in Canada on speculation it will
either seek to top the offer accepted by BCE Inc. from Ontario
Teachers' Pension Plan, or become the target of a buyout itself.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

IPO-VIEW-MF Global poised for $4 billion IPO

(Reuters) - The offering could raise about $3.8 billion, putting it in
a league with Blackstone Group's high-profile $4.13
billion IPO earlier this month. But investors are likely hoping
that MF Global's debut won't mirror the rocky entry of
Blackstone into the public markets.




The offerings come amid new headwinds affecting private
investment funds, including the possibility of higher taxes and
lower returns. There are also market worries about a fallout in
the securitized debt markets, reflected by the recent implosion
of two Bear Stearns hedge funds.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Stocks May Rise; BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Cadbury May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may gain, led by BHP
Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group, after copper prices rose.

Cadbury Schweppes Plc will probably rally on a report that
India's Tata Group may be prepared to invest more than $2 billion
in a bid with Blackstone Group LP and Lion Capital LLP for a
stake in Cadbury's U.S. drinks unit.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 2-Blackstone units fall below $31 IPO price

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 26 - Blackstone Group LP
units tumbled more than 6 percent in Tuesday morning trade,
falling below the $31 price the private equity giant fetched in
its initial public offering last week.




Analysts said the decline was partly due to investor worry
that the private equity market may have run out of steam.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Blackstone Sparks Lobbying `Battle Royale' Over Hedge-Fund, Buyout Profits

(Bloomberg) -- Stephen Schwarzman, the founder of
Blackstone Group LP, stood beaming before 600 Champagne-sipping
investors in the baroque ballroom of New York's Pierre Hotel,
transformed into a black and white palace for the occasion.

At that moment, on June 14, Schwarzman was the master of
the financial universe, fresh from a blitz of media attention
and about to launch the most anticipated initial public offering
of the year. An hour later, his victory lap was thrown off
course by word of a bill in the U.S. Senate to more than double
Blackstone's tax burden -- the first of what are likely to be a
slew of proposals and regulations aimed at hedge funds and
private-equity firms.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Lender wariness signals peak for REIT buyouts

(Reuters) - Acquisitions such as Blackstone Group's $23 billion purchase of Chicago-based Equity Office Properties in February sent property prices soaring on talk of more such deals to come, particularly for office REITs.




But valuation and credit concerns have undermined lender confidence in commercial real estate, threatening private equity firms' strategy of funding takeovers by flipping properties soon after completing a deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

State, county union backs private equity tax bill

(Reuters) - A Senate bill to tax these firms as corporations when they go public was introduced late last week as private equity firm Blackstone Group LP prepares for an offering worth about $4 billion.




Blackstone, the country's largest private equity firm, is expected to go public the last week in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News