Private equity was back in the acquisition game last week, with names like Blackstone, Carlyle, and Bain reappearing among the buyers. But deal sizes were far smaller than in the glory days last year.

And again, North American transactions overall — 43 of them, worth a total of $8.13 billion — were upstaged by a deal in the buzz that didn’t make the list. This time it was Bunge Ltd.’s agreement to pay $4.2 billion for Corn Products International Inc. at the crest of interest in agricultural fostered by global demand for grains. That agreement wasn’t included in the list of Top 10 transactions because news of it didn’t emerge until Sunday, in the latest case of a resurgence of the old pattern of weekend leaks of deals headed for a Monday announcement. (The busy dealmaking of the prior week, when nearly $20 billion of transactions were signed, didn’t include Belgian brewer InBev’s $46-billion offer for Anheuser-Busch. The data compiled for our weekly reports don’t include pending offers.)

Last week’s largest deal was Blackstone Group’s $1.57-billion buyout of Apria Healthcare Group, followed closely by PepsiCo’s $1.36-billion agreement to buy 75 percent of JSC Lebedyansky, a Moscow-based branded juice company, according to data provided to CFO.com by mergermarket.

For the year-to-date, the 1,815 deals struck so far are worth $418.86 billion. That compaires with 2,529 transactions valued at $885.42 billion for the same period last year.

Blackstone Group Holdings LLC to buy Apria Healthcare Group Inc. for $1.57 billion

Lake Forest, Calif.-based Apria Healthcare definitively agreed to be acquired by New York-based private equity firm Blackstone in a deal both boards approved. The price was $21 a share, a premium of 32.7 percent. The transaction is expected to close in the second half.
Seller financial advisor: Goldman Sachs
Bidder financial advisor: Banc of America Securities; Wachovia; Barclays Capital
Seller legal advisor: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher; Munger Tolles & Olson
Bidder legal advisor: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

PepsiCo Inc. to buy Lebedyansky JSC for $1.46 billion

PepsiCo and Pepsi Bottling Group, New York-based drinks companies, agreed jointly to acquire a 75.53 percent stake in Moscow-based JSC Lebedyansky, which makes branded juice. The agreement calls for a 75/25 percent split by PepsiCo and Pepsi Bottling. The $88.02-a-share cash price represents a discount of 3.32 percent. Excluding debt, the price is $1.80 billion.
Seller financial advisor: Deutsche Bank
Bidder financial advisor: Dresdner Kleinwort; Morgan Stanley; Renaissance Capital
Seller legal advisor: Clifford Chance
Bidder legal advisor: Chadbourne & Parke

Fertitta Holdings Inc. to buy Landry’s Restaurants Inc from for $1.30 billion

A newly formed Houston-based entity owned by Tilman J. Fertitta, Fertitta Holdings agreed to acquire Houston-based Landry’s, a restaurant, hospitality, and entertainment company, for a price that includes assumption of $885 million of debt. The $21-a-share price represents a 25-percent premium. The transaction is expected to be completed in four monthst
Seller financial advisor: Cowen & Co.; North Point Advisors
Bidder financial advisor: Jefferies & Company
Seller legal advisor: Haynes & Boone; King & Spalding; Latham & Watkins
Bidder legal advisor: Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan to buy Sociedad Austral de Electricidad SA from Public Service Enterprise Group for $1.27 billion

A consortium formed by the New York City-based alternative investment arm of Morgan Stanley, along with the Toronto-based Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan agreed to acquire the Osorno, Chile-based electric distribution and transmission company known as SAESA from Newark, N.J.-based PSEG Global, an electric generation and distribution company, for a price of $870m, including assumption of $400 million of debt. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter.
Seller financial advisor: Credit Suisse
Bidder financial advisor: Dresdner Kleinwort; Morgan Stanley
Seller legal advisor: Dewey & LeBoeuf
Bidder legal advisor: Torys, Barros & Errazuriz Abogados

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. to buy PNA Group Inc. from Platinum Equity LLC for $1.09 billion

Los Angeles-based Reliance, a supplier of metal processing services and distributor of metal products, agreed to acquire Atlanta-based PNA, a steel processor and distributor. The seller, Platinum, is a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based private equity firm. The transaction is expected to be completed in 60 days.
Seller financial advisor: Citigroup; Goldman Sachs; UBS
Bidder financial advisor: Internal
Seller legal advisor: Bingham McCutchen
Bidder legal advisor: Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell

Carlyle Europe Partners III LP to buy De La Rue Cash Systems GmbH from De La Rue Plc for $701 million

Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm Carlyle agreed to acquire Walldorf, Germany-based De La Rue, which provides cash handling technology products focused on authenticating, counting, and sorting banknotes. The seller is De La Rue Plc, of Basingstoke, UK, a security printing and payment systems company. Completion of the transaction is expected by the end of September.
Seller financial advisor: JPMorgan, Rothschild
Bidder financial advisor: UBS
Seller legal advisor: Ashurst
Bidder legal advisor: Not available

Polaris Acquisition Corp. to buy Hughes Telematics Inc. from Apollo Management LP for $638 million

Fort Lee, N.J.-based Polaris a so-called blank check or special purpose acquisition company, agreed to acquire Atlanta-based Hughes Telematics, a provider of vehicle information-based technologies and services from Apollo, the New York City-based private equity firm. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2009.
Seller financial advisor: Pali Capital
Bidder financial advisor: Duff & Phelps, Lazard
Seller legal advisor: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
Bidder legal advisor: Clifford Chance

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. to buy The Staubach Co. for $613 million

Chicago-based real estate and money management concern Jones Lang LaSalle agreed to acquire Addison, Tex.-based real estate advisory firm Staubach for cash and stock. The transactiont is expected to close in the third quarter.
Seller financial advisor: JPMorgan Bidder financial advisor: Morgan Stanley Seller legal advisor: Gardere Wynne Sewell
Bidder legal advisor: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

Bain Capital LLC to buy D&M Holdings Inc. for $576 million

Boston-based private equity firm Bain agreed to acquire all shares of Tokyo-based audo electronic parts maker D&M for $4.74 a share, a premium of 8.5 percent. The offer price is $441 million before including debt.
Seller financial advisor: Morgan Stanley Bidder financial advisor: Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers Seller legal advisor: Cravath Swaine & Moore, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Bidder legal advisor: Ropes & Gray

BreitBurn Energy Partners LP to buy a 22-percent stake in BreitBurn Energy Partners LP and a 96-percent stake in BreitBurn GP LLC from Provident Energy Trust for $345 million

Los Angeles-based oil exploration and production company BreitBurn Energy agreed to acquire the stakes from Alberta, Canada-based Provident Energy Trust, an energy income trust.
Seller financial advisor: Morgan Stanley Bidder financial advisor: Merrill Lynch Seller legal advisor: Andrews Kurth, Macleod Dixon
Bidder legal advisor: Vinson & Elkins

source: mergermarket