Tom Taulli
California - http://taulli.com

Tom Taulli is the author of various books on finance, including The Complete M&A Handbook (Random House) and Investing in IPO's (Bloomberg Press). In addition to his writing, Mr. Taulli has appeared on high-profile television venues such as CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg TV, and has been quoted in the various print media sources such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and LA Times.

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.

It's a megatrend: the convergence of mobile devices and broadcast television. Keep in mind that worldwide sales of mobile phones hit 1.3 billion last year. Moreover, the growth should continue, especially in emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, South America and even Africa. Thus, by delivering TV on mobile devices, the media industry can greatly expand its market.

But, there is a need for some critical technologies. And one of the leaders in the arena is Telegent Systems, which has filed to go public this week.

Just about a year ago, the shares of Diedrich Coffee (DDRX) were trading around 30 cents. Since then, it's been an incredible ride as the shares have reached $33.

Over the past month, Diedrich Coffee has actually been the target of a heated buyout battle from Peet's Coffee & Tea (PEET) and Green Mountain Coffee Roaster (GMCR). In fact, Monday Peet's upped its bid to $32 or $265 million. Investors think the bidding is not over, though.

With the credit crunch and the implosion of CIT, the environment for small business financing has been downright hostile. Basically, many owners have given up on things and instead have focused on creative ways to boost cash flows.

So in light of all this, the announcement of the $500 million small-business plan from Goldman Sachs (GS) and Warren Buffett certainly was an eye-opener. Perhaps your business can get a piece of the action?

Well, the details are fairly sketchy. But here's at when we know so far:

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.

Wednesday's strong IPO of Fortinet is yet another sign that investors are warming up to early-stage deals -- especially of fast-growing companies.

So does this mean we'll see a public offering of a company like Facebook?

Maybe so. According to Bloomberg News, there has been lots of activity in the private shares of Facebook, which have spiked 42% over the past couple months. The valuation now comes to about $9.5 billion.

In tech circles, you will hear lots about "cloud computing." Essentially, this means that software applications are operated through Internet connections -- and processed in huge data centers. Often, the results include lower costs and easier maintenance.

Of course, the dominant player in cloud computing is Salesforce.com (CRM). And based on its latest quarterly report, the company continues to grow and innovate.

In any recession, customers get stingy. It's natural.

But is there something different this time; that is, are customers becoming long-term frugal?

Perhaps. With an unemployment rate at 10.2%, it will likely take several years for it to get to normal levels. What's more, consumers are saddled with debt and have experienced drastic reductions in wealth (especially with the fall in the real estate market).

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.