Top 15 For 2008 (No. 14): M&A Wreckage

January 2, 2009 2:21 PM EST

StreetInsider.com has put together its 'Top 15 For 2008' which chronicles our view of the most significant news on Wall Street during the tumultuous year.

Number 14: M&A Wreckage

With the turmoil in the credit markets, 2008 was a horrible year for mergers and acquisitions. Not only were new deals not getting done, deals that were already announced were falling apart left and right. Dealogic said global deal volume was down 29% from a record 2007. Of the deals that did get done, some were fire-sales including Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) buyout of Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) and Wells Fargo's (NYSE: WFC) buyout of Wachovia (NYSE: WB).

Some of the biggest M&A blow-ups in 2008

- The mega-takeover of BCE Inc. (NYSE: BCE) was cancelled.
- The most famous deal that didn't get done in 2008 was from laughingstock Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO). Yahoo! turned down a $31 per share deal from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), only to see Microsoft walk away and its stock plunge below $9 per share. Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang was forced to step down following the disaster.
- Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) takeover by Apollo Management's Hexion was terminated
- BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) terminated its offer for Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) after Rio Tinto continuously rejected the offer and the global commodities sector collapsed.
- Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) terminated merger with Blackstone
- Barclays (NYSE: BCS) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) walked away from a takeover of troubled investment bank Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), only to watch the company collapse into bankruptcy. BofA bought Merrill Lynch and Barclays picked up some Lehman pieces after the filing.
- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) terminated its offer for Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) after Take-Two resisted various overtures. Take-Two shares have plunged since.
- Allis-Chalmers Energy Inc. (NYSE: ALY) terminated its merger of Bronco Drilling Company (NASDAQ: BRNC).
- ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) and Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ: MCHP) withdrew their offer to acquire Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML).
- Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) terminated its merger with Corn Products International, Inc. (NYSE: CPO)
- Samsung withdrew its $26 bid for SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK)
- United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) withdrew its offer for Diebold Inc. (NYSE: DBD)
- Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) withdrew its offer for Stewart Enterprises (Nasdaq: STEI).
- Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE: VSH) drops hostile takeover of International Rectifier (NYSE: IRF).
- An offer to take CKX, Inc. (Nasdaq: CKXE) private was killed
- Heelys, Inc. (NASDAQ: HLYS) rejected an offer from Skechers at $5.25 only to watch its stock plunge further.
- Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) rejected an $89 offer from Roche. Its stock has since dropped to $82.
- $15/share takeover offer for Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE: BXG) never completed
- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE: CLF) takeover of Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR) terminated
- Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) $67/share takeover offer from Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) terminated
- Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) terminated its offer to acquire Circuit City (NYSE: CC). Circuit City filed bankruptcy later in the year.
- Chemtura Corporation (NYSE: CEM) sale talks end with no deal
- Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) withdraws offer for Cost Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM)
- Mentor Graphics (Nasdaq: MENT) rejected a $16 offer from Cadence Design Systems' (Nasdaq: CDNS) only to watch its stock drop to $5.16.
- Landry's Restaurants's (NYSE: LNY) $21 per share offer from Chairman never consumated
- Calpine Corp. (NYSE: CPN) rejected a stock offer from NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) worth $23 per share, only to watch its stock plunge to $8.
- Maguire Properties, Inc. (NYSE: MPG) said it would no longer pursue a sale due to market conditions.
- TierOne Corporation (NASDAQ: TONE) terminated merger with CapitalSource Inc. (NYSE: CSE).
- Bain Capital terminated its merger of 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) because the U.S. Government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States said it intended to take action to prohibit that transaction.

Also the Rohm & Haas Co. (NYSE: ROH)/Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) deal, which was considered solid, is teetering after Dow's joint venture in Kuwait was terminated.

Some notable M&A deals in 2008 that didn't get canned included:

- InBev bought Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) for $52 billion
- Mars, Inc. announced a merger agreement with Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (NYSE: WWY) in a transaction valued at approximately $23 billion.
- HP (NYSE: HPQ) bought EDS (NYSE: EDS) for $25.00 per share, or approximately $13.9 billion.
- Altria Group (NYSE: MO) agreed to acquire UST Inc. (NYSE: UST) for $69.50 per share, or approximately $11.7 billion.
- Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) bought Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) in a firesale
- Wells Fargo's (NYSE: WFC) bought Wachovia (NYSE: WB) in a firesale
- PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC) bought National City (NYSE: NCC) in a firesale
- JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) bought Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) with govenment help after its collapse
- JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) bought certain assets of Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) after it collapsed
- Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) and Sovereign Bancorp Inc., (NYSE: SOV) in a firesale
- CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME) merged with NYMEX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMX).
- King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: KG) bought Alpharma, Inc. (NYSE: ALO)
- CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) bought Longs Drug Stores (NYSE: LDG)
- Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) sold a 49.99% interest in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, LLC, for $4.5 billion after canceling a deal with MidAmerican Energy.
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) bought Mentor Corp. (NYSE: MNT) for $1.07 billion
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) bought Omrix Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMRI) for approximately $438 million
- Sciele Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCRX) was bought for $1.1 billion.
- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) bought ImClone Systems (Nasdaq: IMCL)
- IKON Office Solutions (NYSE: IKN) was bought for $17.25 per share, or approximately $1.6 billion in cash.
- Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TEVA) bought Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BRL)
- Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD) bought Foundry Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: FDRY) but the offers was reduced from $19.25 to $16.50.
- Wendy's International (NYSE: WEN) merged with Triarc Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRY)
- Gehl Company (NASDAQ: GEHL) was bought for approximately $450 million
- Republic Services Inc. (RSG) and Allied Waste (NYSE: AW) merge
- Serco Group plc bought SI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SINT) for $423 million
- Nationwide Mutual Insurance to acquire Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: NFS) for $2.4B
- SIRIUS (Nasdaq: SIRI) and XM Radio Inc. (Nasdaq: XMSR) completed their long-awaited merger, but the stock of the newly created company sank to pennies.
- General Electric (NYSE: GE) bought Vital Signs, Inc. (NASDAQ: VITL)
- Tokio Marine bought Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: PHLY) for $4.7 billion.
- Esmark Incorporated (NASDAQ: ESMK) was bought by OAO SeverStal for $19.25 per share, or $1.25B.
- Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) acquires Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC).
- Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) acquires Apria Healthcare Group Inc. (NYSE: AHG) for $1.6B
- Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ: IVGN) merger with Applera's Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE: ABI)
- Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE: MTW) buys Enodis plc for $2.7B
- Liberty Mutual bought Safeco Corporation (NYSE: SAF)
- Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corporation (NYSE: NWA) merge
- Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to acquire Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MLNM) for $8.8B
- O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) bought CSK Auto Corporation (NYSE: CAO) for $1.0 billion, including approximately $500 million of debt.
- BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) bought BladeLogic (NASDAQ: BLOG) for $28.00, approximately $800 million.
- Getty Images Inc. (NYSE: GYI) agreed to be acquired by Hellman & Friedman for $2.4B
- CHC Helicopter Corporation (NYSE: FLI) acquired for C$3.7B
- Reed Elsevier (NYSE: RUK) acquires ChoicePoint Inc. (NYSE: CPS) in an all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $4 billion.
- NuCO2 Inc. (Nasdaq: NUCO) acquired by Aurora Capital Group for $487M
- Performance Food Group Company (NASDAQ: PFGC) acquired by The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) and Wellspring Capital Management in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion
- BEA Systems (Nasdaq: BEAS) was acquired by Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) for $8.5B

Related Categories

Insiders' Blog
Mergers and Acquisitions
Trader Talk

Stocks Mentioned

Related Entities

• JPMorgan
• Bear Stearns
• Merrill Lynch
• Lehman Brothers
• Wachovia
• Banc of America
• Bain Capital
• Wellspring Capital Management
• Hellman & Friedman LLC
• Barclays
• Apollo Management
• Bankruptcy
• Aurora Capital Group
• Top 15 For 2008

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