Former Drexel Burnham Lambert Exec Leon Black is apparently doing another deal with Cendant (Black's Apollo Advisers made NRT happen for Cendant. Henny Sender has more:
Apollo Advisors LP is emerging as the possible winner over Bain Capital LLC for the marketing-services division of Cendant Corp in a close race. Both bids are considerably higher than the $2 billion analysts originally expected, according to people familiar with the matter.The pieces that Apollo may purchase are largely those that Cendant acquired via its' troubled merger with HFS.A final decision has yet to be made, and a bid from Bain could still top that of Apollo. An announcement could come as soon as today.
The higher-than-expected bid for the Cendant unit mirrors recent auctions in which some large private-equity firms dropped out, shaking their heads at the rising price. As in recent auctions, the high bids are supported by favorable financing terms from banks, which make some private-equity firms more willing to bid aggressively.
