According to the WSJ, Kraft (KFT) is in the early stages of finding a buyer for its Post cereals business, the No. 3 US cereal maker by sales after Kellogg and General Mills. A logical bidder would be PepsiCo (PEP). Post may fetch as much as $3bn. Kraft has sent financial information on the unit to potential bidders and if the unit is successfully auctioned, a deal could be signed later this year.

According to the WSJ, Charter Comm.'s (CHRT) controlling shareholder, Paul Allen, is considering a wide range of options for the co, including a privatization and sale. Mr. Allen, who controls a 51.7% stake in Charter and 91% of the voting power, said in a regulatory filing that he may pursue a privatization in which he would acquire all of the stock he doesn't own. At Charter's current stock price, that would amount to about $1bn. The filing also said he may look at a recapitalization or restructuring to reduce Charter's leverage. In addition, it said he may consider "other extraordinary corporate transactions, such as mergers or reorganization or sales of material assets."

"Heard on the Street" section discusses Beazer Homes (BZH), whose shares have been on a wild ride this summer as investors tussle over the outlook for the co. Those betting against Beazer now might have the upper hand. Its recent disclosure of accounting irregularities is expected to accelerate a months-long govt inquiry that began in May. Late last week, Beazer said its former chief accounting officer improperly recorded "reserves and other accrued liabilities." The disclosure is expected to bolster an investigation by the SEC related to whether Beazer violated securities laws. While home-builder stocks have been hurt by the turmoil in the housing and credit markets, Beazer's share price has been hurt more than most. In addition to the investigations, the co has been beset with rumors that it was going to file for bankruptcy-court protection. Beazer has called the rumors "scurrilous" and "unfounded." One possible focus of the SEC's inquiry is whether Beazer was properly disclosing its mortgage practices to investors. Accounting irregularities in the co's books, however, can be easier for investigators to pursue. "So far, everything suggests the mortgage issues were a local problem," says Robert Curran, of Fitch Ratings, "whereas the accounting issue appears to be a corporatewide problem." He said the disclosure raises the possibility Beazer may have to restate prior earnings or take a charge when an eroding housing mkt has already battered the builder's profits.

Barron's Online out saying that investors buying EMC (EMC) on the dip could get a cool 40% discount to VMware's (VMW) hot shares, effectively buying VMware's 84c per share in earnings next year at a P/E multiple of just 42x vs the 67x multiple the mkt is paying for VMware shares outright. EMC owns 86% of VMWare.