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In October, private equity powerhouse, TPG, scored a big win as it took Myer (which is a retailer based in Australia) public. The gains came to a mouth-watering $1.46 billion.

But now there's a huge problem; that is, the Australian tax authorities sent TPG a bill for a whopping $628 million. Its for back taxes, as well as penalties.

Playboy is such a mess that even the hint that a company is interested in it triggers a reaction. Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm, announced Wednesday that it has no interest in buying ailing adult media company Playboy (PLA), despite previous media reports indicating the contrary. Of course, this sent Playboy's shares down 3.7%. Oak Hill didn't just say "no way" to the present but made it clear for the future as well.

This follows a statement by Golden Gate Capital that it wouldn't be involved in a Playboy acquisition, again, despite suggestions in the media that it might make a move for the bunny. The latest possible buyer is Iconix Brand Group, which is generally hungry for brand acquisitions. Playboy is keeping its mouth shut on the matter.

Controlled by the Blackstone Group (BX), Pinnacle Foods is a packaged foods company whose brands can be found in about 80% of the households in the U.S. The portfolio includes Duncan Hines baking mixes and frostings, Vlasic pickles and Swanson frozen dinners.

Well, Pinnacle will get even bigger; that is, the company -- along with the financing from Blackstone -- will purchase Birds Eye Foods for roughly $1.3 billion. There will also be debt financing from Barclays Capital (BCS), Credit Suisse (CS), BofA Merrill Lynch (BAC), HSBC and Macquarie Capital.

To unwind its $45 billion in federal loans, Citigroup (C) has been aggressively selling off non-core assets. For example, the company sold its Japanese brokerage -- Nikko Cordial Securities -- and is even planning to take its Primerica unit public.

The dealmaking has continued. This week, Citigroup has agreed to sell its Bellsystem24 -- a major call center operator -- for $1 billion to Bain Capital LLC. All in all, it's a small deal. But every dollar counts, right?

This deal also highlights another trend; that is, the Japanese market is getting more amenable to buyouts, which is certainly a big shift. After all, Japan tries to avoid huge job losses. Yet, this can make it more difficult to streamline companies.

In fact, the Bellsystem24 transaction was able to get financing from a syndicate of Japanese financial institutions that include Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. No doubt, this is a sign that key players in Japan are willing to make some changes when it comes to buyouts.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook.

Sunny skies are here for Ausra, the solar thermal company backed by Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures. The company is looking for a buyer, and it's already talking to three, according to a report by Reuters. Everything is up for grabs, from a majority stake in the company to 100% of it, and the back-and-forth going on is at a "very aggressive level."

The businesses looking to pick up Ausra are said to be global power generation conglomerates but haven't been named yet. So, the clean energy company would be a way for one of them to diversify.

Dollar General Store (DG) started as a wholesaler in 1939 and then became a retailer in 1955, when the company setup its first store. Since then, the company has grown rapidly. Now, Dollar General is the largest discount retailer in the U.S. -- that is, in terms of the number of stores (which is currently at 8,577).

A few years ago, Dollar General went private, with the backing of KKR, Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wellington Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. It was at the height of the buyout boom, with a price tag of $7.3 billion. Only $2.8 billion was in equity.

Could it be that private-equity buyouts are making a comeback? There are certainly signs of a return. Just last week, TPG and the Canada Pension Plan agreed to shell out $4 billion for IMS Health (RX).

This week, we have another interesting deal: KKR and General Atlantic will buy TASC for $1.65 billion. TASC is the consulting unit of Northrop Grumman (NOC).

Actually, the military giant had little choice but to unload the division because of a conflict of interest. How can you provide unbiased consulting to the U.S. government as well as sell weapons to it?

Vibe, the urban music magazine, is clawing its way back to life. New owners and editors are trying to make the magazine a success reality again, and they are making the web a priority ... which shouldn't be news but is for an ailing print industry.

The new editor-in-chief, Jermaine Hall, told AdAge that "Vibe.com is really the hub," and that everything needs to point back to the online presence. The print publication will be just one part of the Vibe Lifestyle Network, a move we're also seeing with the likes of Rolling Stone, where the website is being brought back into the fold (and may actually get some resources).

Over the past decade we seen at least $1 trillion dollars spent by private equity firms. These firms have taken over companies for a pittance and then pillaged them by slashing employees and cutting costs. They then used the money to pay down debt rather than rebuilding the company.

Now all of the debt thrown on the acquired companies is coming due and it could cause another economic disaster, even bring down the economy.

Going into the summer, it looked like the IPO market was poised for a resurgence. For example, the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) said that it planned on taking eight companies public.

Despite the enthusiasm, things haven't panned out. According to the Wall Street Journal [a paid publication], five of the last nine deals for October priced below their ranges. In fact, last week AEI wasn't even able to pull off its offering.

It's been a long wait for the Vitamin Shoppe, which filed for its IPO back in May 2007. Well, today the company finally hit the markets.

The Vitamin Shoppe issued 9.1 million shares at $17 each (the range was $14-$16). With the money, the company will pay down a portion of its outstanding debt.

Started in 1977, Vitamin Shoppe has grown into a large chain of vitamin/supplement stores, with 434 across 37 states. Even with the recession, the company has still been able to churn out same-store sales growth of more than 4%. For the first half of this year, revenues were $343.7 million, up from $307.1 million a year ago. Net income was $8.8 million.

The clean technology private equity momentum continues. In New York, a group of partners has launched NewWorld Capital Group, a private equity firm that will focus on mid-market investments in clean energy infrastructure companies in the United States and selectively in Europe.

The new fund will work closely with Ambienta, a European environmental assets private equity firm in Italy. Both said they plan to collaborate on finding and analyzing investment opportunities -- with NewWorld taking care of the United States and Ambienta addressing Europe.

What has Blackstone (NYSE: BX) been doing with all those theme parks it's been buying? Well, the answer is becoming a bit clearer now. The private equity firm is getting ready to take theme park operator Merlin Entertainments public early next year.

Several investment banks have already been called to advise on the transaction, including Citigroup (NYSE: C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), UBS (NYSE: UBS), and Nomura (NYSE: NMR). If all goes as planned, the deal could be good for $3.33 billion.

There are chills spreading across the executive suites in Corporate America. As seen with the latest from the U.S. pay czar, there will be 50% pay cuts -- on average -- for 175 executives of firms that received federal money.

Might this spread like a virus?

It's too soon to tell. However, there has been a refuge; that is, private equity. Right?

Activity continues to buzz in the private equity world. For example, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), it appears that IMS (NYSE: RX) is in advanced talks to take the company private. As a result, the shares of the company soared 22% in Monday's trading.

No doubt, a deal could fall apart. But, the fact remains that IMS has definitely attracted interest. Some of the suitors include: TPG, Silver Lake, and BC Partners. The deal could be worth as much as $3.5 billion.

IMS got its start in the mid 1950s when the founders -- Bill Frohlich (an advertising executive) and David Dubow -- saw an opportunity to build a unique information company for the pharma industry. The timing was perfect as the company quickly grew.