Posted By: John Steele

By Anna DriverWed Nov 15, 3:28 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shareholders filed a federal lawsuit
on Wednesday against 13 private equity firms that alleges their
investments were hurt when the buyout firms violated antitrust
laws by conspiring to fix deal prices.
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The lawsuit names big private equity firms, including the
Carlyle Group, Texas Pacific Group Ventures Inc. (TPG.UL), the
Blackstone Group (BG.UL) and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
(KKR.UL).

It claims the plaintiffs "were paid less for their equity
shares that they sold to the private equity defendants and
their co-conspirators than they would have been paid under
conditions of free and open competition."

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, cites news
reports of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice
"into potential collusion by large buyout firms."

On Tuesday, Blackstone President Tony James told the
Reuters Investment Banking Summit that he had never seen
collusion between private equity firms.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan,
alleges that the investment firms formed "clubs" among
themselves to bid collectively in buyout actions. It also
charges that the firms exchanged information and submitted bids
at agreed upon prices.

This year, 901 private equity deals worth $289 billion have
been announced in the United States. That is nearly twice the
value twelve months ago, according to Dealogic, a financial
data provider.

The firms, which pool private and institutional capital,
are targeting larger and more recognizable companies.

The plaintiffs are individuals who own shares of Univision
Communications Inc. (NYSE:UVN - news), HCA Inc. (NYSE:HCA - news) and Harrah's
Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:HET - news). They seek unspecified damages.

Univision agreed in June to a $12.3 billion buyout by four
private equity firms and media mogul Haim Saban. Univision said
on November 2 that the deal was expected to close in the first
quarter.

HCA, the No. 1 U.S. hospital operator, agreed to be
acquired by an investor group that includes Bain Capital, KKR,
and Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE:MER - news) for about $21 billion in cash.
That deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Bain and Merrill are also named as defendants in the
lawsuit.

Harrah's is reviewing a buyout offer worth more than $15
billion from Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group. Apollo
is also named in the complaint.

Among companies that "have done, or are doing, transactions
for prices that are below market rates due to the alleged
conspiracy are: Linens 'n Things Inc. (NYSE:LIN - news), Michaels Stores
Inc. (NYSE:MIK - news), OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. (NYSE:OSI - news), Warner
Chilcott PLC (Nasdaq:WCRX - news), Serena Software Inc., and Freescale
Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE:FSL - news), according to the lawsuit.

The other buyout firms named in the lawsuit are Clayton,
Dubilier & Rice, Silver Lake Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners,
Madison Dearborn Partners, Warburg Pincus and Providence Equity
Partners.

Representatives for KKR; Texas Pacific; Bain; Blackstone;
Clayton, Dubilier; Merrill Lynch; and Warburg Pincus declined
to comment on the lawsuit. Representatives for the other firms
named in the lawsuit were not immediately available.

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