Providence Equity among rumored Alltel bidders

Little Rock-based Alltel Corp. is in takeover talks with three sets of private equity firms – one of which includes Providence Equity Group – unnamed sources reportedly told the Wall Street Journal.
The potential buyout teams include Providence Equity and Blackstone Group; TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; and Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., though others may emerge, the newspaper said.
Alltel, the nation’s fifth-largest wireless service provider, has seen its shares rise 3.3 percent since it announced in February that it was exploring “a broad spectrum of options,” according to Bloomberg News. The company has a market value of $22.5 billion at yesterday’s closing price of $65.20 per share.
Michael Nelson, a New York-based analyst at Stanford Group Co. who gives the shares a “buy” rating, told Bloomberg the equity firms might bid nearly $70 per share, but telephone giants AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. might be willing to go as high as $79 per share
“If they think that they could maximize shareholder value by selling the asset to private equity, I think they’re willing to do whatever it takes,” he said. But, he added, “Private equity is only half the equation.”