Mergers and Acquisitions

The recent resurgence in larger-scale merger activity has increased investors' fears, once more, that a company they hold stock in acquires or is acquired -- either way, the chances it turns out well for the regular investor are far from certain.

Here is a full and interesting discussion of mergers and acquisitions illustrated with many examples:

The GOOD: Apple bought NeXT, bringing not only the kernal of its newest Operating System, but getting innovative Steve Jobs to return as CEO in the process. Disney could pull off a “sequel” by buying Pixar, and getting Jobs as CEO.

The BAD: AT&T: Starting with NCR, and went straight downhill from there. A series of disastrous acquisitions to buy “earnings

The UGLY? Comcast/Disney: This deal raises numerous red flags: Disney is a pricey, under performing property with arguably the world's most overpaid CEO; Comcast has no management experience in travel/media/film/TV business.

It's a lengthy discussion with examples in almost every category of merger type.