Merrill Lynch has been added to the ballyhooed probe of the private equity industry by the Justice Department. The move suggests that Hertz Global Holdings sale is being looked at. The firm is scheduled to go public within a week. Hertz went private just eight months after Clayton Dubilier & Rice, Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity closed the $15 billion deal. It is unclear exactly what is being studied, though the idea that club acquisitions are somehow anti-competitive is in the air. It may mean that specific deals will be under review. It seems like it will be hard to determine if the presence of clubs thwarted other would-be bidders. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom's FSA has opened a probe.

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