With interest rates so low and corporations sitting on $2 trillion in cash, a slew of mergers and takeovers across a number of industries appears likely in 2011. But picking individual companies is awfully tough. Here's a better way to capitalize on the coming M&A boom.
Zimmer Holdings is gaining fresh interest due to favorable prospects in the business in which it has a 25% market share, a stock that's been depressed and an industry that's consolidating. Plus, Zimmer is viewed as buyout prey by some pros.
Polycom is a big player in a small but growing tech market: corporate videoconferencing systems. It develops and makes video-, voice-, data- and Web-conferencing equipment systems. But what adds spice to the stock is its potential as an attractive takeover target.
Embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward traveled to Abu Dhabi to meet business partners, with rumors flying that the company is seeking to raise funds to help the company pay for the clean up operation in the Gulf of Mexico. Hayward arrived in the Emirati capital on Tuesday and plans to stay "a couple of days," company spokesman Andrew Gowers told the Associated Press. Gowers declined to comment on whether or not Hayward would be meeting with investment funds.
