FINANCE
• It’s a busy day for private equity! Blackstone, TPG Capital, and Apollo Management are working on a deal to buy $12.5 billion of loans that were used to finance corporate buyouts from Citigroup. Meanwhile, TPG funneled $7 billion to WaMu to help stabilize the firm’s finances, and Apollo is planning an IPO (a move that KKR will probably be keeping its eye on). Phew! [NYT / DealBook/NYT, Reuters via DealBook/NYT]
• Morgan Stanley’s CEO and chairman John Mack wins reelection despite the firm’s $11 billion losses. [NYP]
• Some bankers fearing layoffs are fleeing toward hedge funds but are warned that “the days of two guys starting a hedge fund in a garage are over.” [DealBook/NYT]
MEDIA
• Former New Yorker managing editor Jacob Lewis is calming things down at Portfolio. [NYO]
• Atlantic Media sells its stake in 02138, and Entrepreneur Media, parent of Entrepreneur magazine, is on the block for $200 million. [WWD, NYP]
• The Politico hits television, and Perez Hilton hits the radio. [NYO, WSJ]
LAW
• Lawyers for a Roman Catholic priest accused of stalking Conan O’Brien arranged a plea deal for a lesser charge of disorderly conduct yesterday. [NYT]
• A Brooklyn-based state assemblywoman was convicted of bribery after she offered a developer city land if he built her a house for free. [NYT]
• Lawyers are disappearing from major firms! [NYT]
REAL ESTATE
• Vacancy rates are climbing at New York’s cheapest office spaces. [NYO]
• The house at 2 North Moore Street is up for grabs for $35 million — perhaps one of the most expensive listings in Tribeca’s history. [NYO]
• The Beatrice Inn heads to…Atlantic City? Really? [Gothamist]
