A private matter: More companies move off markets - South Florida Business Journal:

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This time around, low debt ratioz are the new black. In the 1980s, the collapsew of junk bonds tookthat era's leveraged buyoutg binge with it. But high-debrt deal fuel isn't cool in the new wave of decampmentzs from thepublic markets. Industry watchers creditg what was intended as a partypooper - the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of aimed at deterring corporate corruption - as kickin g off the latest going-private party. The Some public company executives have complainedthe act's flood of paperwork has sunk the long-ter reign of the publidc markets as sources of capital. At the same other formerly hotinvestments - such as real estates - have lost their attraction.
But all that capital wants to go somewhere. Enter the corporate purchasers. In Southu Florida, has been a popular In the lastfour months, fund affiliateds have closed on both , a West Palm Beach-basef bath and plumbing products firm, and , a Pembroke Pines-baseds accessories and costume jewelry The company also has a deal to buy , a Palm Beach-baseed hotel REIT. Jacuzzi Brands cost Apollo $990 million. Claire' was $3.1 billion and Innkeepers is tobe $1.5 pending shareholder approval on June 26. "Goof companies just happen to be locatedin Florida," Apollo spokesmann Steve Anreder said.
Since its 1990 founding, Apollol has invested more than $16 billion in a domestic and international Anreder said the company never comments onfuture deals, but, if the recent past is any plenty of local companies are wheeling and dealinf - themselves. to (NYSE: WPI), whichy paid about $1.9 billion for the drug maker to , for $120.456 million, in a deal that grew over six monthes as Harbingerand Cleveland-based Nacco Industries NC) fought over the Miramar-basedf appliance maker Boca Raton-based to , for abou $1.1 billion West Palm Beach-based to (NYSE: for $1 billion . (NYSE: GEO), based in Boca paid $427.
6 million for the Palm Beachn Gardens-based correctional and detentionfacilities (NYSE: LEV), which is to merge back into (NYSE: BFF) after abouyt three-and-a-half years of public trading. The two Fort Lauderdale firmsd have valuedtheir all-stock deal at $286 Shareholders may vote on the combination - discloseds at the end of January - as earlyu as July. (NYSE: Shareholders were to vote June 21 onthe Davie-based passenge automobile insurer's $712 million combination with , a subsidiary of .