New Year: more deals

In 2006, we have seen basically two major issues:

• The merger mania: Arcelor bought by Mittal; pendent acquisition of Corus by Tata or by CSN (Brasil); Euronext bought by NYSE; BAA bought by Ferrovial (Spain); pendent acquisition of Scania by MAN; pendent acquisition of London Stock Exchange by NASDAQ; etc.
• The definitive assumption of private equity investors, like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Texas Pacific, Permira, or Blackstone.

In other aspects, we have witnessed to this:

1. an unprecedented rise in hostility. Never before have so many institutions and investors been prepared to go hostile in pursuit of their targets.
2. 2006 worldwide M&A activity reached a record $3,760 billion compared with $3,400 billion in 2000.
3. Most venture capitalists and major banks such as Goldman Sachs once avoided hostile bids, wanting managements’ approval for any offer they made. Not any more. With billions raised in takeover funds and their rivals all pursuing the same deals, they can no longer afford to be so scrupulous.
4. “For better or worse it’s one of the business practices that the US seems to have exported,” said Pierce (MORTON PIERCE has chaired the M and A group at the New York law firm of Dewey Ballantine since 1991).

The globalisation and the venture capital will help to increase this trend.