Mega mergers and acquisitions of 2009

Tech Mahindra-Satyam Computer deal

Tech Mahindra, the IT arm of auto major Mahindra and Mahindra, won the bid for Satyam Computer Services. The company offered Rs 58 for each Satyam share for a 31 per cent stake amounting to Rs 2890 crore.

Satyam's acquisition marks the entry of Tech Mahindra, which has so far focused on the telecom vertical, into other verticals such as financial services, healthcare and manufacturing. Tech Mahindra has re-christened the scandal-hit firm ‘Mahindra Satyam', giving it a new brand identity.

AOL regains independence from Time Warner

AOL has resumed life as an independent Internet company as it completed its spinoff from Time Warner Inc and closed the book on one of the most disastrous business combinations in history.

When AOL bought Time Warner in 2001, the companies bet that Time Warner's TV and magazine content would complement AOL's Internet business. Instead, broadband Internet connections began to kill off AOL's main source of revenue and drag down the whole company.

The company was once known as AOL Time Warner but dropped AOL from the name in 2003. That was a sign of what was to come: Time Warner announced AOL's spinoff last May after years of trying to integrate the two companies. (Photo source: NYT)

Oracle to buy Sun Micro for $7.4 billion

Information Technology company Oracle is buying Sun Microsystems in a cash deal the company valued at $7.4 billion. The deal comes after IBM abandoned its bid to buy the networking equipment maker.

The blockbuster deal would give industry's largest database software vendor entry into the server and storage markets. Redwood Shores-based Oracle will buy Sun shares for $9.50 each. (Photo source: NYT)

Chrysler, Fiat merger

Italy's Fiat and US car maker Chrysler inked a merger deal to create a global auto giant.

The deal could be termed one of its kind after the Italian automaker stepped in to save the bankrupt US firm. The new company now exits Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Photo source: NYT)

Pfizer completes acquisition of Wyeth

Pfizer completed its acquisition of rival drugmaker Wyeth following the receipt of regulatory approval from all government authorities required by the merger agreement. It was a $68 billion deal that cements Pfizer's position as the world's biggest drugmaker. (Photo source: NYT)

Volkswagen buys 49.9% stake in Porsche for $5.8 bn

European auto giant Volkswagen bought 49.9 per cent stake in luxury car maker Porsche AG for $5.8 billion.

Volkswagen said the combination of the two companies follows a compelling strategic, industrial and financial logic and the move is expected to help it gain around 700 million euros in annual operating profits in the long term.

"The Stuttgart-based car maker will allow Volkswagen to further expand its position in the premium business, which offers particularly strong earnings," Volkswagen said. (Photo source: NYT)

Volkswagen picks up 20% in Suzuki for $2.5 billion

German carmaker Volkswagen has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Suzuki of Japan by purchasing a 20 per cent stake in Suzuki Motor for about Rs 11,500 crore.

The cross-border deal is expected to have a positive fall-out for Maruti Suzuki, which could become a global hub for supplying small cars through Volkswagen's strong network. (Photo source: AP)

JFE Steel, JSW Steel form strategic alliance

JSW Steel has inked a deal with Japan's JFE Steel, the world's sixth-largest steelmaker, to co-operate in the domestic market to make high quality steel for automobiles.

As per the transaction, both JSW and JFE will buy into each other. The valuation and pricing of the transaction are being worked out and will get finalised over the next few months. (Photo source: NYT)

ArcelorMittal buys 35% stake in Uttam Galva

Steel giant ArcelorMittal owned by London-based NRI billionaire LN Mittal is finally entering India. ArcelorMittal will buy 35 per cent stake for Rs 500 crore in the Indian secondary steel producer, Uttam Galva Steels, to become the co-promoter of the company.

The company which has been looking to set up a couple of fresh production facilities in Eastern India (both projects are much behind schedule) with multibillion dollar investments. (Photo source: AP)

GM sells Hummer to China's Sichuan Tengzhong

General Motors and Sichuan China's Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery have signed the much-anticipated deal for GM to sell the gas-guzzling, military-style SUV Hummer.

Soaring gas prices have battered sales of the boxy vehicles, which roar along on oversize tires and can weigh up to five tons.

Tengzhong, which is keeping production of the Hummer in the United States, will face daunting hurdles in reviving the vehicle, known in Chinese as "Han Ma," or Bold Horse. (Photo source: NYT)

Fortis buys Wockhardt Hospitals for Rs 909 crore

Well, it is the largest ever deal so far in the Indian healthcare space. Fortis, India's biggest listed healthcare provider, sealed a deal to buy the cream of rival Wockhardt Hospital chain's assets of 8 running hospitals and 2 green field projects, for Rs 909 crore.

The move will give Fortis a larger pan-India presence and help it reach out to the southern part of India, where it is absent. The deal will provide Fortis with a mix of big and small hospitals, including 2 multi specialty hospitals and the top management of Wockhardt Hospitals. (Photo source: NYT)

Suzlon sells 35% in Hansen for Rs 1,700 crore

Wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy sold 35.22 per cent stake in Belgian firm Hansen Transmissions for Rs 1,700 crore. Suzlon through its Netherlands-based subsidiary AE-Rotor Holding BV, has sold 236 million depository interests, representing equity shares in Hansen.

Post the sell-off Suzlon's holding in Hansen has come down to 174.63 million shares or 26.06 per cent stake, from the earlier 61 per cent.

UB-Heineken's strategic business arrangement

Vijay Mallya's flagship United Breweries (UB) and Dutch firm Heineken, world's third largest brewer, have buried the hatchet and reached an agreement under which UB will brew and distribute the Heineken brand in India. This resolves a yearlong conflict over its partnerships in the world's second-most populous nation.

The two warring companies announced a strategic tie-up that brings Heineken home at a nearby liquor shop and gives Kingfisher a taste of the global market. Heineken, which acquired UK's Scottish and Newcastle last year, effectively gets a 37.5 per cent in UB as a direct transfer of ownership.

Merck, Schering-Plough merger

Pharmaceutical giant Merck bought rival Schering-Plough for $41.1 billion in cash and shares which will expand its presence in emerging markets and create another pharmaceutical giant.

The alliance would allow Merck to leapfrog to No. 2 worldwide in prescription medicine, just behind Pfizer Inc., which bought Wyeth for $68 billion. The new Merck-Schering company would have about $42.4 billion in annual sales. (Photo source: NYT)

Jubilant, AstraZeneca in drug research deal

Indian drugmaker Jubilant Organosys Ltd signed a research deal with Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca for developing neuroscience-related drugs.

Under the shared risk-reward collaboration, which will initially focus on the neuroscience area, Jubilant aims to deliver a steady stream of discovery programs to AstraZeneca. Jubilant will be eligible to receive research funding spanning an initial five-year period. (Photo source: NYT)

UltraTech to merge with Grasim cement arm

Aditya Birla group company UltraTech Cements will merge Grasim's subsidiary Samruddhi Cements into itself.

The group, which had acquired UltraTech from engineering giant L&T in 2004, had planned to hive-off Grasim cement into Samruddhi, a wholly owned subsidiary of Grasim Industries. The demerged entity would be listed and then merged with UltraTech.