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3M's M&A Mania Continues: $810M Deal for Arizant

3M is hungry for deals. Last month it bought Cogent and Attenti, and today it announced its purchase of Arizant for $810 milllion. It's deal-making may be a good sign for corporate America.

Summer's Sudden Boom in Mergers and Acquisitions

After a couple of fairly sleepy years, mergers and acquisition activity has bounced back dramatically, with potential long-term consequences for the stock market. It's a rare ray of hope at a time when other economic indicators are pointing straight toward the floor.

HP Tops Dell's Bid in Battle for 3Par

Hewlett-Packard raised the stakes once again in its bidding war with Dell over data-storage company 3Par, offering $1.8 billion and topping Dell's own higher bid made earlier in the day.

Dell Prepares to Counter HP Bid for 3Par

The battle is heating up. After a $1.6 billion counteroffer from Hewlett-Packer Monday, Dell is said to be preparing a sweetened bid for data storage provider 3Par.

Aon Buys Hewitt for $4.9 Billion

Aon Corp. and Hewitt Associates announced Monday that the boards of directors of both companies have approved a definitive agreement under which Hewitt will merge with a subsidiary of Aon.

GS No. 1 in M&A

Despite fraud charges and adverse publicity over bonus payments, Goldman Sachs has reclaimed its position as top global mergers and acquisitions advisor for the first half of 2010.

Fortress Fights For Growth with Logan Buy

Alternative-asset manager Fortress Investment Group had impeccable timing when the firm went public in 2007; since then, things have deteriorated substantially -- for everybody. But Fortress is looking for opportunities again, so this week the firm bought Logan Circle Partners.

Amazon Answers iPad with Move Toward a Super-Kindle

The Kindle was already looking somewhat dated even before the iPad appeared on the scene and changed the whole e-reader paradigm. To deal with this, Amazon.com has purchased a tiny tech firm called Touchco it hopes will provide the next Kindle with an advantage over the competition.

Gloom Rules Wall Street as Equities Drop to Three-Month Lows

Stocks suffered sharp declines Thursday amid weak jobs data, European debt fears and some disappointing earnings outlooks. Jittery investors scrambled out of equities and commodities and back into safe havens such as Treasurys and the dollar ahead of Friday's key unemployment report.

Semiconductor M&A Heats Up

Last year was a tough one for M&A in the semiconductor industry. According to Dealogic, the volume plunged from $11.2 billion to $3.2 billion. But lately, there has been some increase in activity. This week, Microchip Technology (MCHP) agreed to pay $275 million or $2.85 per share for Silicon Storage Technology (SSTI).

What Dealmakers Are Saying at Davos

Just a year ago, private equity was frozen amid fear that the global economic system would fall into the abyss. While the world avoided that worst-case scenario and growth hasn't exactly roared back, the world economy is perking up -- and so is dealmaking.

Weapons of Map Disruption: Google Is Crushing Nokia

When Nokia paid $8.1 billion for leading mapping and navigation company NavTeq in late 2007, it was the biggest deal in Nokia's history, and it looked like a smart one. Instead, Google has completely changed the game in the mapping business, and Nokia is struggling to adjust.

Buffett Bashes Kraft's Cadbury Buy

Super-investor Warren Buffett is Kraft's largest shareholder, with a hefty 9.9% stake, but even his negative opinion about the company's $19.2 billion move to buy Cadbury wasn't enough to derail it. Why does the Oracle of Omaha call the transaction a "bad deal?" It's all about value.

Tyco Secures $2B Broadview Deal

Tyco has been quiet on the mergers and acquisitions front since the accounting scandal of 2002. But this week the company returned to the M&A game, agreeing to pay nearly $2 billion to fold Broadview Security (formerly Brinks Home Security) into its ADT unit.

Hershey Is Finally Ready to Bid for Cadbury

After weeks of sitting on the sidelines while Cadbury played cat-and-mouse with Kraft Foods, Hershey is finally ready to make a bid for the U.K.-based chocolate maker. Sources close to the Hershey board say that the company will bid $17.9 billion for Cadbury.

Hershey Preparing a Sweeter Bid for Cadbury

British confectioner Cadbury, in the midst of fending off a hostile takeover bid from Kraft Foods, now appears likely to receive a more appetizing offer from another American suitor: Hershey.

2010 Could Be an Explosive Year for M&A

Even though the New Year has only just begun, we've already seen some big merger and acquisition action. Might this be a harbinger of an explosive 2010? Perhaps so. Then again, M&A can be extremely fickle, especially if the economy goes into a double-dip recession or credit markets tighten up again.

Private Equity Creates Big Returns, Big Controversy

Now that private equity is no longer producing monster returns, it's time to assess its value. By using debt, buyout shops have taken over struggling companies and enriched investors. But critics say the practice leads to more layoffs and the "flipping" of companies.

Is Recent Merger Activity Good News for Stocks?

With big news from Sanofi-Aventis and Bucyrus International Monday, it looks like mergers and acquisitions are making a comeback -- and that could be good news for share prices in the first quarter of 2010.

Exxon Launches Energy's Next Mega-Trend

The industry is poised for yet another revolution, triggered by ExxonMobil's $41 billion purchase of XTO. It's a clear sign that future growth in extractive energy will come from sources other than oil -- such as natural gas. Expect other oil majors to follow suit.