Alliance Blackstone Deal on the Skids
January 30, 2008 – Alliance Data has filed a lawsuit against the Blackstone Group to force it to complete its proposed US$6.8 billion acquisition. The deal seems to have run into trouble with Blackstone claiming regulatory challenges due to conditions imposed by the OCC although there may be more than meets the eye. Current credit sector issues have possibly impacted Blackstone’s ability to do the deal on its original terms as well as Alliance’s financial performance in turn impacting the original valuation. According to Alliance financial results announced today the company earned US$2.3 billion in 2007, up 15 percent from 2006 but net income decreased 13 percent to US$164.1 million. The real question is what the long-term future of Alliance is if the Blackstone deal is indeed scuttled.
Posted by Ali Raza on Wednesday, January 30, 2008