Carlyle takes on KKR in race for Reynolds and Reynolds: sources

Private equity firms Carlyle Group LP and KKR & Co LP have emerged as the lead contenders to take over Reynolds and Reynolds, a software company hoping to sell itself for $5 billion, three people familiar with the matter said. Dayton, Ohio-based Reynolds, which provides business management software for auto dealers in North America and Europe, had hired technology-focused investment bank Qatalyst Partners to run a sale, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in October. The process has progressed and is now in its final stages, though no decision is expected before January, the sources said. Reynolds may be sold to Carlyle or KKR for between $4 billion and $5 billion, less than the company had hoped, one of the people added. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. Spokesmen for Reynolds, Carlyle and KKR declined to comment. Reynolds sells software tools that allow car dealers to run their operations, including providing car dealer websites, digital advertising and marketing services, as well as data archiving. Reynolds was founded in 1866 by Lucius Reynolds and his brother-in-law as a company that prints standardized business forms. It started to serve automotive retailers as major clients in the 1920s. In October 2006, the company was acquired by Universal Computer Systems (UCS) for $2.8 billion. The merged company retained the Reynolds name and is currently headed by Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Brockman, who used to run UCS. Brockman's $2.8 billion buyout was funded primarily by a group of investors that included Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, and Vista Equity Partners.
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Sandia Lab building solar test centers across US

One of the National Security Administration's three national laboratories is building regional testing centers around the country to field-test hardware for solar companies before their multimillion-dollar solar systems are installed in buildings. The Sandia National Laboratory is building test centers in Albuquerque, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., and Burlington, Vt., the Albuquerque Journal reported (http://bit.ly/Y5OGyw). "The centers are designed to not only provide independent assessments of commercial systems, but to do that in multiple locations and climates," Sandia solar group member Jennifer Granata said. The test facilities will provide enhanced monitoring and improved performance prediction capabilities for new technologies being introduced to the market and will have detailed weather stations and measuring and monitoring equipment such as simulators, performance curve tracers and infrared and digital cameras. They will help develop standard procedures to assess performance of large-scale systems that other labs, utilities and investors can use. Select companies will then set up their own systems of between 10 and 300 kilowatts on site. The companies doing field testing at the centers will be responsible for the costs of their systems, while the government will provide labor and expertise. The lab also just completed a $17.8 million upgrade to its National Solar Thermal Test Facility in Albuquerque. While the test centers will focus on solar systems that directly convert sunlight to electricity, the lab's Solar Thermal Test Facility is working to improve concentrating solar power systems that use sunlight to heat liquids to generate steam for turbine generators. That facility was established in 1976 in Albuquerque, but much of it had never been updated until now. Upgrades included construction of a $10 million Molten Salt Test Loop, and a nearly $4 million overhaul of the facility's "solar tower." Concentrating solar power systems are increasingly using molten salt to retain heat from the sun because it's cheap and abundant, and it stores thermal energy for long periods, allowing the systems to generate steam for turbines well after the sun goes down. But energy developers need a better understanding of how pressure, high temperature and flow rates interact and impact a system's overall operation. The Molten Salt Test Loop is now the only test facility in the nation that can provide real power-plant conditions and collect data to help companies make commercial decisions about such systems, Sandia researcher Cheryl Ghanbari said. Sandia National Laboratories' has a main campus on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque and another in Livermore, Calif., near the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The research and development facilities work on a variety of federal science projects and are operated under government contract by Sandia Corp., a subsidiary of defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. Sandia's objectives include ensuring the security of the nation's nuclear stockpile and addressing threats to national security.
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Mundie, one of Gates' successors, to retire from Microsoft

Craig Mundie, one of two Microsoft Corp executives who took over Bill Gates' role at the company, has relinquished control of Microsoft's large research organization and is to retire from the company in 2014. Mundie is taking on a new role as a senior adviser to Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, according to a memo circulated internally earlier this month but only made public on Monday. Eric Rudder, another Microsoft veteran, is taking on responsibility for Microsoft Research, Trustworthy Computing, and the Technology Policy Group, which were all run by Mundie. A 20-year Microsoft veteran, Mundie was one of two men hand-picked by co-founder Gates to take over leadership of the technical side of Microsoft when he retired from day-to-day work at the company in 2008. Mundie took over responsibility for the company's long-term research activities, while Ray Ozzie became chief software architect. Ozzie left Microsoft in 2010. According to Ballmer's memo, Mundie will retire from Microsoft in 2014, when he will be 65. Mundie's new role was first reported on Monday by the All Things D tech blog.
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LSE trims LCH.Clearnet offer amid capital changes

London Stock Exchange PLC has reduced the value of its bid to buy up to 60 percent of European clearing house LCH.Clearnet to take into account new capital requirements being imposed by regulators. The Exchange said Monday that its offer values LCH.Clearnet at a provisional €15 ($19.83) a share, down from the March offer of around €20 a share. The overall value of the deal was not disclosed. It said the reduction was based on the assumption that LCH.Clearnet will have to raise €300 million in new capital. LCH.Clearnet is currently in discussions with regulators about how much It needs to raise to shore up its capital base. The offer for LCH.Clearnet, which clears trading deals, including risky derivatives, has been extended to the end of January.
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Stocks fall as hopes for a budget deal fade

Stocks are closing lower on concern that lawmakers will run out of time to reach a budget deal before year-end. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 52 points to close at 13,139 Monday in a shortened holiday trading session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell three points to 1,427. The Nasdaq composite dropped 8 points to close at 3,013. Sen. Joe Lieberman said that it is now "more likely we'll go over the cliff than not," following the failure of a plan by House Speaker John Boehner's to allow tax rates to rise on wealthier Americans. Failure to agree on a budget plan by Jan. 1 would lead to government spending cuts and tax hikes that could push the economy into recession. Stocks closed early Monday before the Christmas.
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Actress Jennifer Lawrence named 'most desirable' woman

Jennifer Lawrence, you are the world's most desirable woman, according to an international poll released on Tuesday by the website AskMen. "The Hunger Games" star rose to the top of the list from No. 47 last year on the heels of the box-office smash while buffing her credibility as a quirky, sex-mad young widow in the independent film "Silver Linings Playbook," AskMen editor in chief James Bassil said. "Overall, there's a sense that she's a little more authentic than other actors," Bassil said, adding that the public still knows too little about the 22-year-old actress to form a negative opinion. "She's fresh because we haven't seen her all over the gossip pages for the past three or four years," Bassil said. Lawrence bumped last year's winner, Sofia Vergara of "Modern Family" fame, down to No. 12, while reality star Kim Kardashian plummeted to No. 98. The poll surveyed 2.4 million readers asking them to vote on which celebrity they would choose as a prospective partner, according to the website, which is a unit of News Corp. The top 99 are then compiled into the annual poll. Rounding out the top five were actress Mila Kunis, model Kate Upton, R&B star Rihanna and "Crazy, Stupid, Love" actress Emma Stone. AGE NO ISSUE Bassil said that lots of publicity often correlates to higher desirability ranking from men, but too many headlines can leave men looking elsewhere. The most notable drop was socialite Kardashian, who fell 90 places from last year's No. 8 ranking. "Kim Kardashian is petering off and basically dropping off the list at this point even as she's become more visible," Bassil said. Youth also appears to have taken a backseat in men's tastes as this year's rankings feature a handful of women over 40. "We've seen that increasingly over the past two or three years," Bassil said. "Like most things in life, attractiveness is extending into middle age ... Who knows? In 20 years we could see 60-year-olds on the list." Those over the age of 40 on the list include U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, 48; comedienne Sarah Silverman, 42; actress Lucy Liu, 44; and British actress Rachel Weisz, 42. New Yahoo! President and Chief Executive Marissa Mayer was the only business executive to make list at No. 59. The full list can be seen at www.askmen.com.
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"Hobbit" actor McKellen has prostate cancer

The Hobbit" actor Ian McKellen said in an interview published on Tuesday that he had had prostate cancer for the last six or seven years, but added that the disease was not life-threatening. McKellen, 73, played Gandalf in the hit "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy, and reprises the role in three prequels based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit". The first of those, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", recently had its world premiere in New Zealand, where it was shot under the directorship of Peter Jackson. "I've had prostate cancer for six or seven years," McKellen told the Daily Mirror tabloid. "When you have got it you monitor it and you have to be careful it doesn't spread. But if it is contained in the prostate it's no big deal." His representatives in London were not immediately available to comment on the interview. "Many, many men die from it but it's one of the cancers that is totally treatable," added McKellen, one of Britain's most respected actors who is also well known in Hollywood for appearances in the X-Men franchise. "I am examined regularly and it's just contained, it's not spreading. I've not had any treatment." He admitted he feared the worst when he heard he had the disease. "You do gulp when you hear the news. It's like when you go for an HIV test, you go 'arghhh is this the end of the road?' "I have heard of people dying from prostate cancer, and they are the unlucky ones, the people who didn't know they had got it and it went on the rampage. But at my age if it is diagnosed it's not life threatening." "The Hobbit" opens in cinemas later this week.
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