If the daily announcement of new buyout deals weren't enough to convince industry observers that the buyout boom isn't over, then perhaps Citigroup Inc. CEO Chuck Prince's comments in Tuesday's Financial Times will sway the Chicken Littles. The FT reported directly from Prince's mouth: Citigroup, one of the leading providers of leverage, is not going to reduce its financing of buyouts in the near future.
Of course how Prince worded the statement sounded somewhat like the lyrics of the recording artist from Minneapolis and less like a banker from New York:
“When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing.”
Either way, members of the business press can stop speculating about when the buyout boom is going to end and return to guessing which businesses are the next megabuyout. To get the ball rolling, Dealscape is suggesting TJX Corp. —Matthew Wurtzel
