Among the likely investment candidates: Cerberus Capital, Apollo Management, the Carlyle Group and the Blackstone Group.

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Lee Partners, Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management, either dropped out or didn't submit a bid at all by the end of 2006, when Tribune hoped to make a decision on selling.

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Most of the other big private equity firms, like the Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group, Apollo Global Management, KKR and Oaktree Capital Management, now trade publicly.

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The heads of private equity giants KKR ( KKR), Apollo Global Management ( APO) and The Blackstone Group ( BX) all earned their stripes and built buyout skills working in the investment banking units of Wall Street mainstays before breaking out to master the art of the buyout.

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In mid November, Apollo Global Management, Kennedy Wilson, and the U.S Blackstone Group (Hilton hotels) tipped 400 millions euros into Irish acquisitions.

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Note: there is no connection between the for-profit education concern, the Apollo Group, which owns the University of Phoenix, and Apollo Global Management, the private-equity business that is purchasing the McGraw-Hill education division.

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