Luisa Beltran

Modern Luxury Media may receive bids much lower than the $20 million-plus it is seeking, multiple banking sources tell peHUB. Second-round proposals for Modern Luxury, known for its upscale regional magazines, were due last week. The magazine publisher still has a brand name and will likely fetch about half its goal, or just over $10 million, one banker said. Interested parties also are expected to assume some liabilities. It's worth noting that a source close to the company calls the $10 million price too low, but it's in that source's interest to say that. Private equity is mainly involved in the auction, with bidders including Platinum Equity and Castanea Partners. Berkery Noyes is managing the process.

Gryphon Investors has completed a dividend recap of portfolio company, Intelligrated, an automated materials handling company based in Cincinnati. The $80 milion dividend is roughly one-and-a-half times the money Gryphon invested a year before to support Intelligrated's buy of FKI Logistek in 2009, a source said. Gryphon, of San Francisco, invests in middle market companies.

The Stratus Group has invested in Unnafibras, a Brazillian producer of polyester fibers made from recycle PET. The Stratus Group targets Brazilian mid-sized companies. PRESS RELEASE: São Paulo and Santo André – June 23, 2010 – Stratus Group announces an investment in Unnafibras, the leading producer of polyester fibers made from recycled PET in Brazil. […]

Segulah has agreed to sell NEA, a provider of electrotechnical services, to Imtech N.V., of the Netherlands. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2010, is subject to approval from the Swedish Competition Authority.

BP gets funding: BP is adding another $5 billion to its oil-spill war-chest amid deepening concerns about the escalating costs of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Le Monde to Lazard: Journalist at Le Monde, the French daily, voted in favor of a takeover by a trio of French businessmen. The businessmen are led by Matthieu Pigasse, a Lazard investment banker. Judge sold Exxon stock: Legal documents released Friday reveal that U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman sold his holdings in Exxon Mobil Corp. on Tuesday, the same day he blocked the Obama administration's drilling moratorium. Apple Jacks recalled: Kellogg Co. is recalling 28 million boxes of cereal Friday because the plastic packaging smells bad and could be causing nausea and diarrhea. The recall affects Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks cereals. Pabst is sold: C. Dean Metropoulos, a Connecticut tycoon, has bought Pabst Blue Ribbon, the working class beer that has turned trendy. Terms weren't disclosed but apparently the $250 million price tag isn't right.

Eric Cohen has stepped down as co-managing partner of WHI Capital Partners, peHUB has learned. It is not clear when Cohen actually left WHI, a Chicago-based buyout firm focused on niche manufacturing, distribution and specialty service companies. peHUB was first clued into Cohen's departure thanks to an email bounce-back.

A second run at buying Fidelity National Information Services will likely face the same problems that doomed the first one. TPG Capital is trying to revive its $15 billion offer for the payment processing giant, the New York Post is reporting. The deal originally went south after Fidelity National had the audacity to seek a higher offer (peHUB has learned that it was TPG partner Blackstone who initially walked away).

Banks, even the problem ones, provide a chance for buyout shops to buy cheap deposits that can be grown and loaned out for decent returns. But buyout shops appear to be staying away. There have been 140 M&A transactions involving U.S. banks so far this year, raising about $2.8 billion. This is down from last […]

Today's big buyout news is that Providence Equity Partners approached Hasbro about a buyout, and that Hasbro said no. Maybe the talks are really dead, or maybe we're simply watching some pre-deal posturing. Or maybe a bit of both, and other LBO firms will soon fill the breach (given Hasbro's $6.1b market cap, no one firm is likely to do it alone anyway). But why media-focused Providence in the first place? After all, isn't Hasbro known for Transformers and GI Joe? (peHUB also is intrigued and alarmed by Hasbro’s Baby Alive real surprises doll that pees and poops.)

So much time, so little to do: Unemployment may be rising but Americans are frittering away the extra moments. No new car this year: Ford Motor Co. says the U.S. auto market is flat-lining this year because consumers are reluctant to make big purchases. Goldman cares, they really do: Goldman Sachs is bending over backwards to show clients they care and bribing them with sushi. GM readies IPO: General Motors Co is planning to file a statement outlining its plan for a public offering of its stock in July for a listing that could raise up to $20 billion.