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In a way, Africa is a new frontier for mobile services. The continent is seeing growth from the commodities boom. Plus, there is certainly a need to build up the infrastructure.

No doubt, Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) sees the opportunity. In fact, this week the company plunked down $900 million for a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom (the remaining 30% will be held by the government).

Actually, Ghana Telecom is the main player in the market, with 99% of the fixed-line segment. There is also a 90% control of the broadband category.
However, as for its mobile, Ghana Telecom is ranked #3 (behind MTN Group Ltd. and Millicom International Cellular SA). There are roughly 1.4 million customers.

But, with the help of Vodafone -- which plans to invest $500 million in Ghana Telecom -- there should be a ramp in growth in mobile (the goal is to reach a 25% marketshare). Keep in mind that only about 35% of Ghana's citizens have mobile phones (the population is 24 million).

Yet, this is not a done deal. That is, Vodafone needs to get the approval of Ghana's parliament. Obviously, this will be a hot topic for debate – and may result in an even higher price for the transaction.

I'm sure KKR is irked that the Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) is public. In fact, the company had its IPO at the peak in the market, picking up billions from investors. And, since the transaction, Blackstone has used its stock to pull off deals, such as the purchase of GSO Capital.

But, according to a piece in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) it seems that KKR is still gunning for a public offering. True, KKR did file an S-1 about a year ago. But, the last amended filing was in November.

Then again, KKR has been on a hiring spree – bulking up its executive suite. Some of the positions include: general counsel, chief compliance offer, CTO, chief human-resources officer and so on.

In other words, why have such people unless a company wants to be public?

If anything, the lull in the private equity market may be a blessing. Keep in mind that KKR hasn't struck a buyout deal this year. So, what better time than now to build up the infrastructure?

In the rarefied world of private equity, there is a well-known PR operator: Kekst & Co Inc. Founded in 1970, the firm has a sterling client list, which includes biggies like KKR. No doubt, it's a complex specialty, which requires a strong understanding of securities regulation and shareholder relations.

Well, Kekst is selling out to Publicis Group, which is a global advertising and marketing firm. The price tag was not disclosed.

Kekst has a storied past. For example, the firm was involved in the leveraged buyout of RJR (back in the late 1980s). Kekst is also advising Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (NYSE: BUD) on its fight against InBev.

With the slowdown in M&A and buyouts, might this be a bad time to sell? Perhaps so. But, then again, I'm sure that Kekst's founder, Gershon Kekst, wants some liquidity.

Besides, Publicis can provide a global platform. After all, there are likely to be many more cross-border M&A deals.

Traditionally, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have focused on highly liquid investments, such as equities and bonds. But as these funds get bigger and bigger, the focus has been changing. In fact, some SWFs are moving into alternative investments and even buying up whole companies.

Take Dubai World, which is the emirate's SWF. This week, the firm teamed up with OAO Roskommunenergo (a Russian energy player) to bid $5.34 billion for OGK-1, which is a major electricity provider in Russia.

It's a savvy move. After all, Russia is in the process of deregulating the electricity market, which should come into effect by 2011. So there should be some pricing opportunities (keep in mind that prices have been held artificially low for decades).

Even so, OGK-1 has its challenges. Essentially, the company needs some serious capital infusions. But hey, that's something Dubai World can deal with handily, right?

Enodis plc, which got its start in 1910, is a global supplier of food and beverage equipment. Actually, it's been a tasty company for several suitors.

And now Enodis will have a new owner: Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW). The company outbid Illinois Tool Works Inc (NYSE: ITW) and has agreed to pay $2.7 billion for the firm.

Enodis has a strong global footprint, assembling a large portfolio of quality brands, such as Delfield, Frymaster, Garland, Ice-o-matic, Scotsman and so on. What's more, the company has top-notch clients like Burger King (NYSE: BKC) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD).

However, on its face, Enodis looks like a mature company, with little growth ahead of it. But the fact remains that the company is poised nicely for opportunities in emerging markets, especially in Asia.

Even so, Manitowoc is certainly paying a premium for Enodis. Perhaps that's why Wall Street is a bit concerned, as Manitowoc's stock has gone from $44.75 to $30.83 since April.

Deloitte LLP, which is over 100 years old, has built a wealth of knowledge. In fact, last year the firm posted $9.85 billion in revenues.

Well, Deloitte has put together an interesting series of small pieces – called Straight Talk guides. The goal is to help companies "rely less on guesses."

The guide that caught my attention was "M&A Lies, and Why They're Sometimes True." It's a quick read but has some valuable insights.

Keep in mind that – according to various studies – roughly half of M&A deals fail. That's certainly daunting.

But, this doesn't mean that companies should forgo deals. Rather, many companies have been particularly good at M&A, such as Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO).

Some of the pieces of Deloitte's advice include:

• Don't get caught up in deal fever. After all, investment bankers can push hard (and they are incentivized to do so). Thus, if you detect some serious problems, slow things down – and perhaps even walk from the deal.
• Buying a company is fairly straight forward; integration, on the other hand, can be extremely complex. In other words, as you are putting together the deal, make sure you are also planning for the post-sale activities. Actually, one of the biggest issues is forgetting about customers (one study shows that customer neglect can result in a 50% drop-off in revenues after four years).
• You need to make sure you see good deals. To this end, it's important to cultivate relationships with various players, such as deal attorneys, CPAs and investment bankers.
• Taxes matter. Can you find ways to lower the tax burden?

So, to get the ebook, you can go to the Deloitte site.

Since 1975, Lakshmi Mittal has turned ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) into a global steel powerhouse. As a result, he's worth in excess of $45 billion. Actually, as an indication of his power, Mittal is now a board member of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS).

And, no doubt, his dealmaking is likely to continue. In fact, there are reports that ArcelorMittal will make a play for Rio Tinto Group, which is the #2 ore producer in the world. The company is currently ensnared in a hostile takeover from BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP). Basically, ArcelorMittal may make an equity investment, which could exceed $10 billion.

Why? ArcelorMittal needs to find ways to stabilize its raw material supplies. After all, with pricing pressures, it's important to contain things.

Then again, this may ultimately be mostly noise -- to get traders excited. But, in light of ArcelorMittal's global power, investors will definitely listen.

TPG is causing some consternation in the UK. You see, the private equity firm has agreed to invest £179 million in Bradford & Bingley (B&B), which is a beleaguered financial institution.

Essentially, B&B investors are worried that TPG has structured an airtight deal to prevent other bidders from coming to the table. Another concern is an antidilution clause (which protects TPG if B&B's stock price falls).

In fact, shareholders will vote on the deal on July 7th. So yes, there should be some drama.

And, TPG isn't taking any risks. Actually, the firm plans to go on a major roadshow with investors. I'm sure it will be intense – but helpful.

However, it looks like B&B is in a tough spot. In light of the deterioration of its business, the firm needs to work fast. And, if the TPG deal falls through, it's a good bet that B&B's stock price will go into a tailspin.

I've seen it many times: a cool product that finds few customers. That seems to be the case with Helio's mobile phones. Basically, customers didn't want to pay premium prices for such things as access to MySpace and other new-fangled features.

It's a tough lesson (and expensive). SK Telecom and EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK) formed Helio as a joint venture in 2005 with start-up capital of $440 million. SK Telecom invested an additional $270 million in the venture last year.

Yet, in the end, Helio turned out to be a big dud. That is, the company sold out for a measly $39 million to Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM). In fact, the space is full of dead companies, such as Disney Mobile and Amp'd Mobile.

I had a chance to interview Frank Dickson, the co-founder and chief research officer of MultiMedia Intelligence. According to him:

Honestly, the merger is a desperate move. Overall, the MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) model makes sense in a limited number of situations. For example, if a cable MSO wants to leverage its customer base and offer triple or quadruple play offering, there is a clear distinctive competency and the MVNO route makes sense.

For MVNOs such as Virgin Mobile and Helio, where is the competitive advantage? What can be offered that the "big boys" cannot? In the current environment of price competition, with Sprint (NYSE: S) firing the latest $99 dollar all-you-can-eat salvo, MVNOs are hard pressed to maintain an advantage. Their positions are tenuous at best.

In the end, one has to view this as two weaker competitors trying to combine to create a critical mass. When one has competitors like Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless, AT&T (NYSE: T), Sprint and T-Mobile, the merger will just not create enough scale.

For deals of $2 billion or less, private equity firms are showing interest. However, the problem is: cheap valuations.

This is what the board at Chemtura (NYSE: CEM) found out the hard way. Late last year, the company retained Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) to explore "strategic alternatives." While some private equity firms showed interest – like Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) and Apollo Management LP -- there wasn't much appetite to pay a premium. So, Chemtura has ended the process. Instead, the company will focus on restructuring (such as divestitures).

Chemtura has an interesting mix of businesses, such as plastic additives, pool and spa products and the lubricant components. For 2007, the company generated $3.7 billion in revenues.

However, with the energy crisis, the environment has been particularly tough for Chemtura. Just look at rival Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW), which has increased prices two times during the past month.

Of course, Wall Street was disappointed with the Thursday's news on Chemtura's potential buyout, as the stock price plunged 22% to $6.34.

When the Carlyle Group got its start in the late 1980s, the founders leveraged their extensive political backgrounds. It was certainly smart as the private equity firm struck some key deals (especially in the defense area).

Well, Carlyle is using its political savvy once again. This time, the firm wants to take advantage of the distressed valuations in the banking sector.

Basically, there is a complex set of regulations that make it extremely difficult for private equity firms to invest in banks. For example, there is an equity cap of 25% (which is often lower if the private equity firm wants more control).

So, in the Wall Street Journal, the Carlyle Managing Directors, Olivier Sarkozy and Randal Quarles, weighed in with an opinion piece.

The essential argument: the regulations are outmoded.

In fact, the rules may make our financial system weaker since there is tougher access to much-needed capital. After all, it seems that every day there is another bank that needs huge amounts of capital.

No doubt, Carlyle is being self-serving, and it will probably make a fortune from the regulatory changes.

At the same time, capitalism can be a powerful tool, and as a result, move things in the right direction. With $400 billion available in the coffers of private equity funds, this could be a big help to repair the big problems in the banking sector.

Interestingly enough, the issue appears to have some traction. According to a recent Wall Street Journal story, it looks like the Federal Reserve is thinking about relaxing some of the rules.

It's been tough for private equity firms to exit investments. Basically, the valuations are much lower – and the IPO market is particularly weak. And, with the credit crunch, it's really impossible to recap portfolio companies (such as with dividend payouts).

Despite all this, the Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) may buck the trend. According to a report in Bloomberg.com, it looks like the firm may be able to sell one of its portfolio holdings, Groupe Vitalia, a hospital operator based in France.

In fact, it appears that Groupe Vitalia has attracted four serious bidders – and that the deal may come to $2.2 billion. Some of the bidders include CVC Capital Partners, LBO France, Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato and Batipart SA. In other words, it's a mix of private equity players and strategic buyers.

Interestingly, Blackstone has been able to bulk up Groupe Vitalia with a variety of bolt-on acquisitions. All in all, it 's a smart strategy that may see a rare pay off.