Shades of dotcom bubble in M&A boom

December 21 - Telegraph UK - The total value of takeovers across the world has reached $3,611bn this year, higher than during the dotcom bubble, according to new figures. Goldman Sachs led the charge in the record year of mergers and acquisitions, working on more than a quarter of all deals done, according to data provider Thomson Financial. Read More.

M&A: An Irresistible Urge To Merge

December 19 - BusinessWeek.com - The dealmakers will be working double time in '07, and in virtually every sector. For dealmakers, life hasn't been this good in years. Companies awash in cash and blessed with a benevolent economy, along with private equity players whose piles of capital keep growing, are driving mergers and acquisitions to new records, eclipsing much of the blockbuster action at the turn of the century. Read More.

M&A Will Set a Record in 2007 So Long as Goldilocks Economy Continues

Healthcare, Media, Financial Services, Energy and Telecom Sectors to Fuel Activity

December 13 - PRNewswire - On the heels of a sweeping wave of fourth quarter deal activity that could make 2006 a record year for M&A, the Transaction Services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers believes 2007 could set a new record for deal volume with both strategic buyers and private equity firms expected to further accelerate activity. According to Thomson Financial, deals involving US companies announced through November 2006 totaled $1.3 trillion compared with $1.2 trillion for all of last year, and $2.0 trillion in 1999, which holds the current record for deal value and volume. The number of deals exceeding $10 billion is about the same as it was in 2000. Read More.

Companies Increasingly Use Cash for M&A

December 8 - MSN Money - Cash is king for U.S. companies looking to buy out a rival these days. The past five years have seen a steady rise in the number of companies using cash instead of stock to make acquisitions. Behind this increase companies having amassed large cash stockpiles due to a big runup in the stock market and more than two years of double-digit profit growth. Read More.

Bankers See Tech M&A Boom Ahead

December 8 - RedHerring.com - The party isn’t over, say investment bankers who forecast in a new survey that the volume of tech deals in 2007 will outstrip this year’s strong showing. In a survey released Thursday by New York-based 451 Group, 84 percent of senior investment bankers said the deals in their pipelines were running higher than at the same time last year. Read More.

Medium sized M&A deals create more long-term value

December 7 - Scotsman.com - The current merger and acquisition (M&A) boom is creating shareholder value but mainly for medium-sized deals, according to research by the Cass Business School and global consultancy firm, Towers Perrin. Read More.

Japan to see rise in M&A activity next year - Mergermarket

December 12 - Forbes.com - There could be an increase in takeover activity in Japan next year as the economy strengthens, but red tape and resistance to hostile bids remain obstacles, according to the results of a survey by Mergermarket, a UK firm that disseminates information about mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Read More.

Let's make a deal: M&A activity on track to hit record this year

If 2006 doesn't end up as the year of the deal in the USA, it won't be for lack of effort on Wall Street's part.

Monday, Bank of New York said it is paying $16.5 billion for Mellon Financial, and LSI Logic said it is buying chipmaker Agere for $4 billion. Read More.