M&A Watchers Buzzing After Buffett Discloses Failed $22 Billion Takeover Bid

Warren Buffett has corporate M&A watchers buzzing Monday after he revealed at the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) annual meeting that he recently considered a $22 billion acquisition, although he couldn't get the deal closed. Of course he wouldn't say who the target was.

Buffett said while the two sides couldn't agree on terms the deal could still re-emerge.

In Berkshire history, a $22 billion deal would be rivaled only by the $26.5 billion 2010 takeover of Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

Buffett said that if no major deal is reached this year the company could look at deals larger than $30 billion next year.

Of course, the Buffett comments have M&A watching asking who the $22 billion target was and what other elephants the Oracle is circling.

Below are some guesses on the $22 billion target:

• The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY): We all know Buffett love to buy American. What's more American than the Hershey bar? At $15 billion, this could be an easy Buffett target.
  
• Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB): at $20 billion, the Property & Casualty Insurance provider would fit great in the Berkshire Hathaway insurance arsenal.
  
• W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE: GWW): at $14 billion, the leading North American broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products would make a good target.
  
• Dollar General (NYSE: DG), at $16.4 billion the country's largest dollar store could find itself the target of Buffett. Buffett held 4,497,247 shares of DG at the end of the year.

Some slightly larger targets:

• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) - $27.4 billion
  
• Automatic Data Processing (NYSE: ADP) - $26.2 billion
  
• FedEx (NYSE: FDX) - $28.33 billion
  
• Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) - $23.6 billion
  
• CSX (NYSE: CSX) - $23 billion
  
• The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) - $27.5 billion

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