Mergers Hit $166-Billion Last Year

Thirty-four “mega-deals,” or transactions valued at more than $1-billion, contributed to the increase. They totalled $103-billion compared with 35 mega-deals valued at $48-billion in 2004. Mergers and acquisitions rang up their strongest year since 2000 on the back of a robust North American economy, accessible financing, strong balance sheets and attractive valuations for sellers, Crosbie said. Almost half of the value of last year's deals were in natural resources. “With a strong wind in its sail, the M&A market has raced to one of the best years on record,” said Ed Giacomelli, Crosbie's managing director said in a statement. “In contrast to the record year in 2000, the current M&A market is more broadly based and is still behaving rationally.” The fourth quarter of 2005 saw a number of large hostile takeovers, lead by Barrick Gold Corp.'s $10.4-billion (U.S.) bid for Placer Dome Inc., creating the world's largest gold producer. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060227.wcrosbie0227/BNStory/Business/ [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on March 1, 2006]

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