Overview On M&A and Takeovers

This article appeared in the American Lawyer of October, 2010

During the first half of 2010 the number of M&A transactions increased by approximately 20%. Due also to the headline transactions announced during the summer months namely the bwin/Partygaming cross border merger and the acquisition by INTEL Corporation of Infineon´s WLS business, the record is improving also on a volume basis.

CROSS BORDER TRANSACTIONS

Private M&A : Cross border private M&A transactions during the first half of 2010 included the EUR 430 million acquisition by One Equity Partners of Constantia Packaging, the EUR 130m acquisition of Esso/Mobil Austria by AGIP/ENI Italy from Exxon, USA, and a large scale JV STRABAG/Lafarge in the construction/cement sector. During Q 3 2010, the most significant announced cross border transaction was the USD 1.4 billion acquisition by Intel Corporation, USA of the wireless solutions business from Infineon, Germany, a multi-jurisdiction transaction