The year of the deal starts off with a bang

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are back with a bang in 2005. The latest is Procter & Gamble's deal to buy Gillette for $57bn.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are back with a bang in 2005. The latest is Procter & Gamble's deal to buy Gillette for $57bn.This caps the biggest four months of takeovers since the days of the tech boom in 2000.

This may be good news: it suggests buyers are seeing good value all over the market. Or it may be bad news, in that it tells us America's big firms can't see much in the way of organic growth on the horizon, so they're having to buy it in instead. Either way, it seems to be telling us that the many predictions that 2005 would be the year of the deal were right.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up