Daily Dispatch: Ford, Blackstone, IBM, and Google

(MoneyWatch) 

• Ford has hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to arrange the sale of its European luxury brands, according to two people familiar with the strategy, which is known internally as "Project Swift." The company is looking for bidders on the Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover brands, which make up the Premier Automotive Group. Ford lost $12.6 billion last year.

• Compensation details on the historic Blackstone IPO were released today, revealing that the co-founders will receive $2.3 billion from the deal. CEO and Co-founder Stephen Schwarzman received nearly $400 million in cash last year, and will own 23 percent of the firm (likely worth more than $7.5 billion) after the deal closes. The company's stock is expected to start trading under the BX symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.

• IBM today agreed to buy Telelogic, a Swedish software provider, for $745 million cash. Ovum analyst Bola Rotibi said that "IBM has been missing a few key capabilities in its application lifecycle, or software development, portfolio which the purchase of Telelogic plugs up quite nicely." Telelogic will add strength especially in the telecom, aerospace and defense, and automotive industries.

• Google was handed a big "F" on its first privacy report card from London-based Privacy International. The results of the advocacy group's six-month survey of 23 Internet firms were released on Saturday. The survey ranked Google at the very bottom, and said "throughout our research we have found numerous deficiencies and hostilities in Google's approach to privacy that go well beyond those of other organizations."