Here comes merger mania!

i personally don’t care for microsoft because their windows OS software alway have a flaws ever since windows 3.1 come out. linux operating system software is more stable and open source than microsoft’s windows operating system.
I think the price on microsoft is too high. that’s my opinion.

Takeovers only lead to more megacorps which stifle competition and eventually set higher prices.
Why grow an already existing problem?
Takeovers should be banned or limited.

Vasco Data Securities International(VDSI) is a prime target to be taken over. Beaten down from 44 to under 19 this stock was taken apart when the financials were crushed. They are a sound high growth company that is ripe for the plucking. Check out VDSI.

Q: Money ready for US investment?
A: Sovereign Funds…result of $90 oil.
As Wharton’s Siegal says…”we’ll
need to get used to it.”

I personally welcome more M&A. As these will spruce the already dull market sentiment. But also note, growth without falling down is not a healthy growth. An evitable reccession is probably a good thing for the long term financial health.

I have been watching and analyzing AMD for at least a year and a half. I can see any number of companies wanting to buy them outright such as CSCO, IBM, SONY, Samsung, just to name a few. They are into media tech now and integrating their chips into LCD’s. They have formed partnerships with DIVX and IBM and they are rolling out their own Media OEM software. Their stock was undervalued heavily when it went under $7 a share. There is a whole lot more I could add to this but I don’t care if any of you listen to me or not (I am not trying to spark a buying frenzy). Just mark my words, “AMD is the dark horse in 2008″.

Another Takeover candidate may be WATERS(SYMBOL: WAT). It is only a matter of time, with the pps being so low and undervalued. Dont be surprised.

I feel another big merger will be the buyout of Sprint/Nextel. With the stock below $10 the company looks to be ripe for the taking.

We’ll see if anymore mergers occur.Are you people psychics? Do you see into the future? NO…You’re all guessing. With the economy sliding into a VERY BAD MAJOR recession which the US hasn’t experienced since WW2,there is NO money to finance any mergers.Very few companies have the resources/cash on hand to do a buyout like Microsoft..Most other acquisitions were LBO’s using highly leveraged asset/ stock transactions…Those days are OVER! Lets look back in Dec.2008 and see how many of these predictions came true…Realistically not many!

While Oil stocks may be somewhat bloated on the balance sheet side how about regional banks ripened for takeover by being somewhat undervalued and guilty by an economic association?

Walgreen’s has been lagging for sometime with only small aquisitions. I think they are feeling the pressure from CVS/Caremark and should be on the prowl for a PBM that they can roll their existing PBM into, coupled with their specialty rx biz and home healthcare and infusion biz. It would require outside financing even though they want organic growth only with no debt this is the time to pounce.

And don’t forget the transportation sector, folks. It may well be soon that we see DHL’s US Express operations merging with Fedex.

This Microsoft Yahoo merger is sparked by the anticipation of Google winning the bid for the old Cellular frequencies to start a nation wide network. If Google is awarded those frequencies, they will need immediate infrastructure. Look for a bargain buyout of SPRINT who is ready to file banckruptcy. The Google/SPRINT nation wide wireless broadband network versus Microsoft/Yahoo/AT&T wirelss broadband network.

Microsoft or Google should buy Rediff.com (Indias Biggest Internet Play) And this is the right time. Stock is at 52 week low, and investors are fed up with promoters, and their rubbish talks in the conference calls. Who ever buys Rediff.com (Nasdaq REDF) will have huge advantage in the online internet business. Market cap is mere 200 Million. For just one Billion, anyone can get REDF easily.

John McDonald Duluth,
You’re citing the very reason why U.S. made goods are no longer considered q quality. These mergers are hindering the competativeness of U.S. goods in the world market. Which is silly. The U.S. is a cesspool of resources (ie. educated workforce), we need not resort to dumbing down corporate America to get ahead… of eachother and the world.

Yes, more mergers will come. I think next we’ll see some activity from some of the big oil companies.

As for the Microsoft-Yahoo story, I for one hope these merger talks fall through. I think MS would do more harm than good with the Yahoo brand. Back in 1997, my first e-mail account was on Hotmail, one of the pioneering free e-mail providers. Once Hotmail was acquired by MS, it was all downhill from there. I abandoned my Hotmail account years ago and I don’t miss it one bit. I can only imagine how they would cripple Yahoo Mail, which is as good as any free e-mail provider today.

What does winning the superbowl have to do with our economy? Nothing whatsoever. Moreover, taking the opportunity to interject your personal opinions about sports teams when discussing such serious matters weakens your credibility, as well as the credibility of CNN.com. There seems to be an emerging pattern of poorly written/edited articles that have little to do with the attention grabbing headlines on this site. If I want to read someone’s opinion on who should win the superbowl I’ll visit a sports blog, not a financial “news” page.

Goodbye Capitalism.

Hello Corporatism.

I think that mergers are the only way most tech companies will grow for the next few years. Currently no one is coming up with any new gadgets. Until the visonaries develop the next step, the only place tech companies have to grow is to buy each other up until we’re down to two three!
The average public doesn’t understand the achievements that have been made because most of it is behind the scenes and are not ‘flashy’ improvements like Windows and the web were.
It’s the same with other industries – got to have something flashie to make an impact…er go, mergers.

Ian, Chicago,

Right now it seems a little late to get in on the bottom of WM. BAC did an ok job with tying up CFC with a $18/share bear hug and then riding it down before going for the kill.

First we thought we could all get rich by selling our houses to each other. Then by selling our business to each other (private equity leveraged buyouts). Now is it suppose to finally work when “the good” buy out “the bad and the ugly?” – I don’t think so.

To rick in SF, I think your regional view is distorting your perspective. CA may be ground zero for teh sub prime/banking mess but outside that microcosm, it’s not the apocalpyse you think it is. WaMu still has a huge portfolio of accounts, loans, credit cards, etc. as well as branches. Once the subprime mess rebounds back (and it will, it always does), WaMu, like Countrywide will have been a very shrewd buy if you can get it at the bottom of the current panic.

>other top companies with pristine balance sheets

Huh? How many such companies are there
with pristine balance sheets, especially
among banks and finance. WM a takeover
target — you’ve got to be kidding
me. No bank in their right mind will buy
them. What does WaMu bring to the table?
Certainly not plenty of capital, and
with the credit crunch it is foolishness
to buy another bank that also does not
have any money to lend out.

I don’t know who Microsoft should buy. But Microsoft should sell Vista.

I think financials are probably the best bet. But I think Southwest Airlines will make an acquisition this year.

I also see Apple and Google to make some acquisitions. They have a war chest out of this world.

oh but of course. If it’s not in the tech sector, I wouldn’t be suprised if a few bids go up for a few lending institutions. I would even speculate that if the U.S. dollar stays this low, the bids could be from foreign companies too.

Yes, more mergers are coming. Shades of “Rollerball” (where a few giant corporations run the world).
And, of course, with every merger, more employees will be laid off.

HP will buy Adobe.

I think it might. Merger speculation is very popular right now in many sectors. Take the aviation industry, for example. Not too long ago, America West/US Airways tried to take over Delta Air Lines (luckily, that was unsuccessful). Now, there are speculations about mergers with Delta, Northwest, United, and even Continental. The potential MS-Yahoo! merger might just be the push that is necessary to jump-start this new trend.

Go GIANTS!!!

April 2008…. Google buys Ebay.

I have a feeling we are going to see some big mergers happening among health insurance companies as they jocky for position pending election 2008.

I am suspicous of anyone calling out any specific company as a take over target…”WaMu” as an example. Wow…simply Google that name and acquistion and you will see a decade of similar comments that went nowhere.

Regarding mergers/takeovers, Most of these symbols will disappear by the third quarter,’08: BBT,CFR,HBAN,KEY,NCC,SBIB,STI and WM. Their new homes will be in JPM, BAC, WFC and Wachovia.

Financials are the best bet. As highlighted WAMU will no doubt go this year and virtually all of the better institutions (e.g., Wachovia, Wells Fargo and others) are trading at 40% below their historical highs.

These are strong companies with excellent management, lots of capital and will consistently move up over the next two years as the economy settles.

Of course merger mania is on the way. The banks have to generate business somehow and the bargains are going to be plentiful. The only difference is going to be in the source of financing (no structured financing or debt for a year of so).