Studies: Deal Mania Will Continue

July 17 - CFO.com - Private equity represented 30 percent of U.S. deal value in the second quarter, a level not seen in over 10 years.

Thanks to record cash levels at corporations and private equity firms, plenty of available financing, and historically low levels of distressed debt, merger and acquisition activity remains at a six year high, according to a new study from the Transaction Services Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Read More.

M&A Roundup from CFO.com

July 21 - CFO.com - Xstrata and Flaconbridge; Ashtead and NationsRent Cos.; BMG, EMI, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Universal, Warner Music, Viacom and GTCR Golder Rauner; BMG and Sony Music; New York Observer and Tribeca Enterprises; and more. Read More.

Will 2008 election spur media deals?

July 15 - Reuters - Big media deals and strict regulation don't mix well. But will the fear of potential change in control of the White House in 2008 spur mergers and acquisitions before then?

That's the question some Washington watchers and bankers are considering as they look beyond this fall's congressional elections to the next presidential contest. Read More.

Is It Deal Time Again in the Oil Patch?

July 16 - NY Times - WHEN Anadarko Petroleum announced last month that it would pay $21 billion to acquire Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources, shares of other domestic oil and gas producers climbed. Anadarko offered an overall premium of more than 40 percent above market price for the companies — suggesting to many investors that other drillers were undervalued and that more deals were in the offing. Read More.

Anadarko Petroleum deals top M&A list for the first half of 2006

July 14 - Houston Business Journal - Anadarko Petroleum Corp. leads the list of top mergers and acquisitions during the first quarter of 2006 with two transactions in the top three deals involving Houston companies reported by FactSet Mergerstat LLC. Read More.

Ex-Editor in Chief of Time Inc. Joining Carlyle Equity Group

June 18 - NY Times - The former editor in chief of Time Inc., Norman Pearlstine, will join the Carlyle Group, the private equity group, as a senior adviser on media and telecommunications acquisitions, the firm said yesterday. Read More.

M&A Roundup from CFO.com

July 14 - CFO.com - Sony BMG; Bell Globemedia and Chum; Aviva and AmerUs Group; Comcast, Time Warner and Adelphia Communications; PCCW and Francis Leung; Xstrata and Falconbridge; Shanghai Automotive and SAIC Motor Company. Read More.

European Mid-Market M&A outlook

June 13 - mergermarket.com - This is the first edition of the European Mid-Market M&A Outlook, published by mergermarket in association with KPMG.
This report includes the survey of senior executives within mid-market corporates, private equity firms and fund managers in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K., canvassing their expectations for the market and their own strategic plans and objectives.

Table of Contents

• Key insights
• Introduction
• The market
• Drivers
• Constraints
• National differences
• Methodology

Read More

Earnings Preview: Banks Bolstered by M&A

July 14 - NEW YORK (AP) - Major U.S. Banks Seen Posting Strong Second Quarter on Robust M&A Activity. Investment banks are primed to report strong second-quarter results this month, buoyed by a surge in merger and acquisition activity that reached near record levels. For the major diversified financial companies, a banner period for investment banking and other fee-based businesses is expected to offset a sluggish period for retail operations. Read More.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Forecast: M&A Will Remain Strong Through 2006, But Could Peak Thereafter

July 13 - PRNewswire - Cash remains at record levels and economic numbers are good, but some wonder if the market is ready for a breather. M&A activity remains at a six year high, according to the Transaction Services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers, buoyed by record cash levels at corporations and private equity firms, plentiful financing and historically low levels of troubled commercial debt. Read More.