Eamon

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. is close to hiring an adviser to help explore strategic alternatives and it plans to consider the possible sale to a private equity firm, the New York Post reported citing a source close to the retailer. The newspaper added Leonard Green & Partners, a private equity firm in Los Angeles, is seen as the most likely acquirer. The Post also said BJ's Wholesale could fetch as much as $3 billion.

Houlihan Lokey hired Elsa Berry as a managing director and head of cross-border consumer coverage. The firm also hired Louis Fabregas as a senior vice president and David Muson as a vice president, focusing on advising consumer products companies in the U.S. and internationally. All three previously worked for BNP Paribas.

Bain Capital Partners LLC’s Giraffe Acquisition Corp. commences its tender offer for Gymboree Corp. The bid is for $65.40 a share, or a total of $1.8 billion. The deal was previously unanimously approved by Gymboree’s board. Gymboree is a specialty retailer with 1,037 stores, as of Oct. 2.

(Reuters) – Tribune Co filed a reorganization plan late on Friday that will turn over control of the bankrupt newspaper publisher to its leading creditors including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Angelo Gordon & Co and Oaktree Capital Management. The plan signals an important step toward the recovery of the media company — which owns the […]

(Reuters) – U.S. buyout firm JC Flowers could bid for four British customer-owned mortgage lenders as part of a plan to create a new “supermutual” that could be partly listed in London, the Observer newspaper reported on Sunday. The West Bromwich, Skipton, Norwich & Peterborough and Principality building societies could all get bids from JC […]

(Reuters) – Wind farm owner and operator First Wind Holdings Inc. WIND.O, which is planning a $300 million IPO for next week, may be a risky bet in the current energy climate. First Wind finances, develops and operates utility-scale wind energy projects in the Northeastern and Western United States and Hawaii. Seven projects now operating […]

(Reuters) – CommScope Inc (CTV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it is in talks with private equity firm The Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] regarding a potential acquisition that would result in the communications cable maker becoming a private company. Under the terms of the potential agreement, Carlyle would acquire all of the outstanding shares of […]

Oil and gas explorer and producer Triangle Petroleum Corp. formed a joint venture with Oppenheimer Global Resource Private Equity Fund I and a related co-investment fund (OGR). Both funds are managed by an affiliate of New York-based Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. OGR made a $25 million commitment to co-invest with Triangle for asset acquisition and development in the North Dakota Bakken Shale play. OGR received a right to participate in up to 25 percent of Triangle activity in the Williston Basin.

General Electric Co.’s GE Healthcare plans to purchase all of Clarient Inc.’s common and preferred shares via a tender offer price at $5 per common share and $20 per preferred share. The proposal values Clarient at $587 million. The deal is expected to close in late 2010 or early next year. Clarient is a partner company of Wayne, Pa.-based Safeguard Scientifics, which expects net proceeds of about $145 million from the deal.

Merriman Holdings Inc. named Bradley Rotter to its independent advisory board. Rotter is chairman of AirPatrol Corp. and has been a public and private venture investor for 30 years. He is also an advisory board member of the hedge fund Symmetry Peak and the private equity fund Pacific Homeland Security Partners. Merriman is a San Francisco, Calif.-based financial services firm.