Bubble Trouble?

Congratulations to Avista Capital Partners, the proud new owner of my local newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune. For a mere $530 million, the private equity firm gets a third-rate paper in a second-tier market in a dying industry with no growth prospects. What a deal! (Pun intended.) Need more proof that there’s an LBO - er, excuse me, private equity - bubble? According to Dealogic, private equity deals have accounted for 28 percent of the dollar value of takeovers announced in the U.S. this year, up from just 3 percent five years ago. And the pundits are predicting even more activity in 2007: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=atlm6vMQ_nd8&refer=home