Caterpillar Makes a Buy

Caterpillar announced they are acquiring Bucyrus International.  Caterpillar is number 2 in their industry segment and #153 in The Global 5000 list.  Bucyrus is ranked 65 in Farm and Industrial Equipment industry and #1953 in the Global 5000. This industry segment has really felt the effect of the recession.  Industry growth in 2007 was 14.9%, […]

Everyday Happenings – Ch 11, M&A and Divesting to Bimbo

Watching the global business wire on a dailybasis can be like looking into a kaleidoscope. It is an ever changing picture. Just this week we noted a few events that reflect the overall trends in today’s world. Ambac Financial filed Chapter 11 – another financial firm struggling in the wake of the recession and financial mess. Chevron […]

A Health Care Merger

In the news today, McKesson (# 46 on the G5000 list) has agreed to acquire private company US Oncology (#1686 on the G5000 with $3.3 billion) . We know the Health Care sector is huge — over $3 trillion – and a hot spot in the news these days.  There are 250 companies in all […]

Merger of Utilities

Northeast Utilities and NSTAR announced they are combining forces.  These are two big utility companies.  Northeast is #1231 on the Global 5000 list and NSTAR is ranked #1672.  Combined, they will be in the top 1000 companies in the world. Utilities did not escape the economic downturn — and in fact, coming off robust growth […]

More Big(ger) Pharma

This week, Pfizer (#163 of the Global 5000 list) announced it was acquiring King Pharmaceuticals (#2441 on our list).  This will add another $1.7 billion of revenue to Pfizer and move them up a few notches on our list. As always, those who sell products and services to King will now have to monitor the […]

Deals, Deals, Deals

The news wires were alive at the start of the week with announcements of three big deals among Global 5000 firms. Unilever (#129) announced it is acquiring Alberto Culver (#2518) WalMart (#3) is acquiring South Africa’s Massmart retailing organization. Southwest Airlines (#831) is acquiring AirTran (#1933) It has been well covered in the business press […]