Wall Street deal-making tumbles from boom to bust

Wall Street bankers celebrated as mergers and acquisitions reached the highest level ever last year, topping even pre-crash 2007. This year, they’re seeing a more dubious record: Deals gone bust.

Of the $5 trillion in transactions announced in 2015, almost 10 percent — $504 billion — have since been terminated.

Companies and their bankers can blame themselves for some of the failures, said analyst Ira Gorsky. Deals have grown so large, and in consolidated industries, as to provoke the wrath of antitrust enforcers.

That was the case with Staples’s attempt to buy Office Depot for $6.3 billion.

The FTC had argued that uniting the office suppliers would harm buyers, and earlier this month, a federal judge agreed.

The blocking of the Staples-Office Depot transaction “is a reminder that even the current political and regulatory environment can present challenges,” said Eric Shube, a partner at the law firm Allen &Overy.

— Bloomberg

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