SECTOR WINNERS
Consumer
Lazard
Lazard was financial adviser on some of the biggest deals of 2009, including Kraft Foods’ takeover of Cadbury, the British chocolate maker. This deal stands as a tribute to Bruce Wasserstein, the veteran dealmaker and chief executive of Lazard, who died one month after Kraft made its first bid for Cadbury. Wasserstein completed more than 1,000 deals, worth a total of about $250 billion, during his long and illustrious career.
Financial Institutions
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) created its innovative common equivalent security (CES) to meet Bank of America’s unique circumstances. The bank needed to raise capital in an amount exceeding the number of authorized common shares. It also wanted to complete the transaction prior to the next shareholder meeting. The CES was treated as tier 1 common capital and converted on a one-for-one basis into common stock upon shareholder approval to increase the authorized shares outstanding. “The CES structure is elegant in its simplicity,” says Dan Cummings, global head of equity capital markets at BAML. “It was able to mimic the common stock, dollar for dollar, and the trading between the CES and the regular shares was very tight.”
Healthcare
Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital was sole adviser to Illinois-based Abbott on its acquisition in September 2009 of the pharmaceuticals business of Belgium-based Solvay for $6.6 billion in cash. The UK-based investment bank also was a financial adviser on the biggest M&A; deal of last year, Pfizer’s $64.5 billion purchase of rival Wyeth in January 2009.
Industrials/Chemicals
J.P. Morgan
J.P. Morgan advised Air Products & Chemicals on its $6.7 billion unsolicited tender offer to acquire rival Airgas, a wholesaler of industrial gases. The proposed transaction includes the assumption of $1.9 billion in liabilities. In November 2009, J.P. Morgan advised Mitsubishi Rayon, based in Japan, on its takeover by Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings.
Infrastructure
Scotia Capital
Scotia Capital enhanced its infrastructure platform in 2009 and expanded its presence in Latin America and Europe. It recently advised Host Kilmer Service Centers on its winning bid to operate 23 gas stations, stores and fast-food outlets on Ontario’s major highways. In 2008 Scotia Capital identified infrastructure as a key growth sector.
Media & Entertainment
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch was exclusive financial adviser to Marvel Entertainment in its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company. The offer price represented a 29% premium to the market and a $4 billion transaction value. Disney acquired Marvel’s library of more than 5,000 characters.
Metals & Mining
BMO Capital Markets
In a year when many financial institutions were retrenching, BMO Capital Markets made 350 strategic hires in Canada and around the world in 2009. The firm completed mining transactions on six continents. In June 2009, BMO Capital Markets advised Newmont on its $1 billion acquisition of the remaining one-third interest in the Boddington gold mining project in Western Australia.
Oil & Gas
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
BAML advised Central Asia Petroleum on its $3.3 billion sale of MangistauMunaiGas (MMG) to a joint venture of CNPC Exploration and Development and KazMunaiGas. CNPC is China’s state-owned oil and gas company. The deal was China’s largest investment to date in Kazakhstan’s energy sector and was part of a $10 billion Chinese investment in the country.
Power
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley advised Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy on its $9 billion acquisition in February to acquire Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Energy. It also advised Houston-based RRI Energy on its $1.6 billion merger with Atlanta-based Mirant. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners led a consortium in March that invested $425 million in Singapore-based Asian Genco.
Real Estate
UBS Investment Bank
Chicago-based General Growth Properties engaged UBS in January 2010 to assist in evaluating potential financial transactions for its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The upscale mall operator filed for bankruptcy in April 2009 and has received a series of offers this year. It says it expects to select its plan for emergence from bankruptcy in July.
Technology
Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital, is a leading financial adviser on technology deals. Barclays Capital advised Cisco Systems on its $2.9 billion acquisition of Starent Networks, based in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, in a transaction that closed in December 2009. Starent makes software and equipment for the transfer of data from the Internet to mobile devices.
Telecom
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse advised América Móvil, Latin America’s leading mobile-phone services provider, on its tender offer to acquire Carso Global Telecom in a stock-swap transaction valued at $27.55 billion. The bank also advised América Móvil on a second tender offer to acquire the remaining 39% stake it did not already own in Telmex Internacional, which offers data and Internet services in South America.
