Here at Chad J Robinson, we offer help with business law in Boca Raton and the surrounding areas. One aspect of business law that we are knowledgeable in, and can help with, is mergers. Mergers can be beneficial for businesses for a variety of reasons. You only need to look at history to see plenty of examples of successful mergers from the past. In fact, here are the top biggest mergers in world history.
$131 Billion
In 2017, two beer giants, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, merged into one company. The new company, known as AB InBev, takes in about 55 billion every year now. In fact, three out of every ten beers sold around the world are made by AB InBev. The reasoning for this merger was to attack new markets sprouting up within the industry, like in China where these beers are popular.
$131 Billion
Another merger worth 131 billion dollars, this one was between DOW Chemical and Dupont. Both chemical companies, DOW is known for making napalm, bleach, and Ziploc bags, and Dupont is known for making gunpowder, Nylon, and Freon. As a combined entity, the company has made about 83 billion dollars every year. However, according to the original contract of the merger, the company is set to split three ways by 2018.
$134 Billion
The Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless merger is worth about 134 billion dollars. In the 1990s, Vodaphone, a wireless cellphone service company, was acquired by another company called Airtouch. Verizon Communications, then called Bell Atlantic, cut a deal with Air Touch afterwards, creating what is known today as Verizon Wireless. Obviously, as Verizon is a phone company giant, this was an extremely successful merger. When Vodaphone sold their stocks back in 2013, they almost doubled their investment.
$229 Billion
The merger between media giants Time Warner and AOL was worth 229 billion dollars. While at its peak AOL was one of the quickest growing technology companies in the US, nowadays we think of it for what it was: “dial up internet”. This isn’t considered a successful merger historically, as internet was about to make a major shift from dial up to broadband. Despite its big acquisition price, Time Warner would later let AOL go for a small market value totaling 3.5 billion dollars.
$290 Billion
The merger between Time Warner and AOL might have been a flop, but it wasn’t the biggest flop. That honor goes to the merger between Vodafone and Mannesmann. Mannesmann was acquired for 290 billion dollars, and yet the merger ended up in court due to squabbling about severance pay for employees from Mannesmann. Nowadays, this is considered the biggest flop in merger history.
While we don’t handle mergers this big, if you are looking for help with a business merger in Boca Raton, we can help! Chad J Robinson is an expert is Boca Raton business law. For more information about how our company can help you, please do not hesitate to give us a call at your earliest convenience. We’ll be happy to answer any questions that you might have. We look forward to hearing from you!