LEARN FROM THE GREATEST: TOP 10 MOST SUCCESSFUL DEALS IN HISTORY

Deals happen all the time in the market. One company buys another or merges with another to create a massive enterprise. These deals not only make money for the companies involved in them, but also for the investors that hold positions within them. With that said, here are the top 10 most successful deals in history:

#1: VODAFONE ACQUIRES MANNESMANN

In what proved to be the largest deal to take place in history, Vodafone Group Plc made a massive acquisition in February of 2000. The company made a $180.95 billion deal to takeover Germany’s Mannesmann. While the deal was starkly resisted by the German people, it did eventually make it through, marking the biggest acquisition in history and making waves in the telecom industry.

#2: AOL ACQUIRES TIME WARNER

The second biggest deal in history goes to AOL and Time Warner. Back in January of 2000, AOL acquired Time Warner in a deal valued at $164 billion. While this proved to be a massive hit for Time Warner investors, it wasn’t he best move for AOL. In fact, the relationship between the two companies only lasted about 9 years as AOL rapidly deteriorated.

#3: VERIZON TAKES CONTROL OF ITS OWN WIRELESS UNIT

The next deal on the top 10 biggest in history goes to Verizon. For some time, Vodafone Group owned about 45% of Verizon Wireless. For years, Verizon worked to take control of their wireless unit. However, it took until September of 2013 for a deal to take place. Verizon ended up paying Vodafone $130 billion in order to take full control of its wireless unit. Ultimately, this worked out great for both parties as Vodafone received a massive up front payment while Verizon’s $21.8 billion per year from the unit gave them the financial strength to improve infrastructure and competitiveness in the United States market.

#4: PFIZER TAKES CONTROL OF WARNER-LAMBERT

Back in the year 2000, Pfizer completed a massive hostile takeover of a company known as Warner-Lambert Co. The company worked for 3 months to achieve the takeover in a deal that some consider to be the most hostile in history. The deal closed with a value of $90 billion.

#5: AT&T ACQUIRES BELLSOUTH

The next largest deal in history took place in March of 2006. During this time, it was announced that AT&T would acquire BellSouth in a deal valued at $86 billion. This deal took until December to close. However, the acquisition allowed AT&T to expand coverage into more rural areas in the United States at a time when the mobile phone market was still relatively young.

#6: EXXON BECOMES EXXON MOBIL

In 1999, low oil prices were taking their toll on the entire energy and gas industry. In an effort to stay afloat, Exxon Corp and Mobil Corp completed a merger valued at $81 billion, creating an energy superpower known today as Exxon Mobil Corporation. This deal made Exxon Mobil the largest player in its industry. While Many said that Exxon paid too much in the deal, it’s hard to argue the success the deal led to.

#7: GLAXO WELLCOME BECOMES GLAXO SMITHKLINE

The next on the list of the 10 largest deals in history took place back in September of 2000. At this time, Glaxo Wellcome PLC and SmithKline Beecham announced that they would merge, coming as a surprise to investors. The merger was valued at $75.7 billion. While the two had discussed merging back in 1998, these talks fell apart in the midst of a power struggle. However, when the deal closed in the year 2000, it created the world’s largest drugmaker of the time.

#8: ROYAL DUTCH PETROLEUM BECOMES ROYAL DUTCH SCHELL

The 8th largest deal in history goes to the deal that turned the British company Royal Dutch Petroleum Corporation into Royal Dutch Shell. In 2005, Royal Dutch Petroleum Corporation announced that it would be merging with Dutch Shell Transport & Trading in a deal valued at $74.5 billion. While the deal faced skepticism from investors surrounding the management of the combined company, it was eventually approved, making Royal Dutch Shell plc the second largest publicly traded oil firm in the world.

#9: COMCAST BUYS AT&T BROADBAND

The next largest deal in history took place back in 2001 when Comcast signed an agreement to purchase AT&T Broadband. The deal closed with a value of $72 billion. As a result of the deal, Comcast became he largest cable company in the United States. While the original agreement was for the new company to be called AT&T Comcast Corporation, the two companies later agreed to keep only the Comcast Corporation as the name.

#10: CITICORP AND TRAVELER’S GROUP

Finally, the 10th largest deal in history took place back on April 6th of 1998. At this time Traveler’s Group and Citicorp announced plans to combine their companies. In a deal worth $70 billion, the two firms created the largest financial services company in the world, known as Citigroup.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There you have it, above are the 10 largest deals that have happened in the history of the market. However, keep your eyes peeled. New deals are taking place every day, creating potential opportunities for savvy investors and traders alike.

This article was written for marketing purposes and does not constitute investment advice. The information in the article represents the general views of our experts and does not take into consideration the personal circumstances, investment experience or financial situation of any reader.