The Largest Mergers and Acquisitions in History

Whether friendly or hostile, these corporate buyouts have great impact on the local and national economies that host them. Below are the 20 biggest mergers and acquisitions in world history. Here are the 20 biggest mergers and acquisitions in world history. They encompass the finance, telecom, energy, pharmaceutical and products industries.

In 1998, Nation’s Bank Corp. acquired BankAmerica Corp. for $61.6 billion. Travelers Group acquired Citycorp for $72.5 billion.

In 1999, AT&T Corp. acquired Tele-com Inc. for $69.9 billion. Vodafone Group acquired Airtouch Comm. for $65.8 billion. Sanofi-Synthelabo acquired Aventis for $65.6 billion.

In 2000, SBC Communications acquired Ameritech Corp. for $70.4 billion. Exxon Corp. acquired Mobil Corp. for $85.1 billion. In the largest acquisition of all time, Vodafone AirTouch acquired Mannesmann for $202.8 billion. Pfizer, Inc., acquired Warner-Lambert Co. for $88.8 billion.

In 2001, GlaxoWellcome acquired SmithKline Beecham for $78.7 billion. In the second-largest acquisition in history, America Online acquired Time Warner for $181.6 billion.

In 2002, Bell Atlantic Corp. acquired GTE Corp. for $71.3 billion. Comcast Corp. acquired AT&T Broadband for $72.0 billion.

In 2005, Royal Dutch Petrol acquired Shell Trans. & Trade for $80.3 billion.

In 2006, AT&T Inc. acquired BellSouth Corp. for $89.4 billion.

In 2007, shareholders acquired Kraft Foods, Inc., for $61.6 billion. RFS Holdings acquired ABN-AMRO Holdings for $98.2 billion, making it the fourth-largest acquisition of all time.

In 2008, shareholders acquired Phillip Morris Intl. for $113.0 billion, making it the third-largest acquisition in history. Gaz de France acquired Suez for $75.2 billion.

In 2009, the U.S. Treasury Dept. acquired GM Certain Assets for $61.2 billion.