Pasadena Star-News – Investment firms Providence Equity Partners Inc. and Cerberus Partners LP are readying a roughly $15 billion bid for a Japanese unit of British mobile-phone operatorVodafone Group PLC, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Banks that may help finance the purchase, which could be in the form of a leveraged buyout, include ABN Amro Holding NV, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, according to the person, who declined to be identified because the negotiations were still under way.
Providence, which manages $9 billion for investors such as pension funds, has long been an investor in media and communications businesses. The firm was a founding partner of Voicestream, which eventually became T-Mobile USA
