M&A misery: tear sheet

Don’t cry for the deals that didn’t make it in 2008. A record number of mergers and acquisitions were pulled this year, worth a total $911bn, according to new data from Dealogic. While that’s less than the value of deals that hit the skids in 2007, the chance of survival – or withdrawn deals as a portion of announced deals – rose to 28%, against 25% last year, and 17% the year before. Most of the deals in question are better off forgotten. BHP Billiton’s $150bn bid for Rio Tinto was a bull-mark...