The jumbo LBO market reopens

Does Warren Buffett’s takeover deal for Heinz do exactly what it says on the tin – mark the reopening of the jumbo leveraged buyout market?

Or is the Heinz deal, as well as recent M&A activity involving such companies as Dell, Virgin Media, AMR Corp, Anheuser-Busch InBev and NBC Universal, simply the flavour of the month – long-awaited strategic plays from CEOs that happen to have come out at the same time.

Dell, the world’s third-largest computer maker, sparked the prospect of a revival in February when it revealed an audacious plan to take itself private in a $24.4