It wasn't quite a free-for-all, but some big-name private equity firms battled for Freescale Semiconductor; an alliance led by Blackstone Group ended up on top. Blackstone was joined by the Carlyle Group and Texas Pacific Group. They had to thwart a late-starting effort by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Silver Lake Partners and Bain Capital, among others. The $17.6 billion deal will likely be the largest ever in the technology industry. I wonder if we'll see more private equity groups going head to head as the number of targets inevitably dwindle. This will only push prices higher with uncertain consequences for debt-ladened targets.

For more on the deal:
- Here's a New York Times article