This year has been predicted by pundits as a year of unavoidable mergers as companies seek to achieve growth as a result of low interest rate. According to data from Thomas Reuters, the first quarter of 2015 saw $843 million (23.4%) rise in global merger and acquisition compared to $694 million which was recorded in 2014.

While sectors like health-care, media, and telecommunications experienced the most acquisitions in 2014, this year, mergers and acquisitions were predicted to spread across other sectors.

Dell Inc. and EMC Corporation

Dell Inc., a privately owned American multinational firm acquired a $54 billion data storage provider, EMC Cooperation, for roughly $67 billion. The merger which has been looming since 2011, represents the largest merger and acquisition deal in history. The merger also pushed  Dell to the third position in terms of projected revenue with only Hewlett-Packard and IBM ahead them.

The merger of Hewlett-Packard and Digital Equipment Corp in 2002 was the first merger of two competitive firms and subsequent merger Sun Microsystem by Oracle in 2010.  In past years, EMC has made critical decisions on when to integrate with other companies just like it did for VMware which gave it the tag “king of merger”.

From the merger, Dell gets a $34 billion cloud-computing software vendor in its own right, which was 85% owned by EMC. “This acquisition enables Dell to compete with Hewlett-Packard thus becoming the market leader, and also diversify from the PC market,” said Robert W. Baird & co analyst Jayson Noland in a research report.

The merger of Dell and EMC has created the world’s largest privately- controlled integrated technology company, and transformed Dell from a PC producer to an IT solution provider for businesses. Also, the deal is expected to have impact on Dell and EMC customers, and loss of key personnels from both firms.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller

The world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) acquired its biggest rival for about $104 billion after making a four bid increase in October 2015. The merger of AB InBev and SABMiller is one of the biggest on record, and also surpasses Shell’s takeover of BG Group Plc to become the largest in United Kingdom’s (UK) history.

The merger is expected to give AB InBev more exposure to fast- growing economies in the world, with specific reference to Latin America and Africa where Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow steadily in coming years.

The successful merger will also see AB InBev control about half of the company’s profit and some of the world’s most popular beers – Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois from AB InBev, and Grolsch, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell from SABMiller would be under one company. .

AB InBev said it would offer a partial share alternative to its cash proposal of 0.483969 unlisted shares and GBP 3.7788 in cash for each SABMiller share, equivalent to a value of GBP 39.03 per SABMiller or a 33% premium. “The combination would cap a $90 billion deal-making spree over the last decade, turning a regional brewer into the undisputed global leader,” said Carlos Brito AB InBev Chief Executive Officer.

The merger has been tipped by analysts to record greater sales in consumer products space than Coca Cola, and have one or two positions in 24 of the world’s 30 biggest beer markets.

Royal Dutch Shell and Britain’s BG Group Plc.

Royal Dutch Shell popularly known for its gasoline stations merged with BG group Plc, a big natural gas specialist, for about $70 billion cash and stock in April 2015. 

Reports indicates the deal is the biggest oil and gas take over since Shell’s merger with Royal Dutch Petroleum in 2004. Following Exxon Mobil’s purchase of XTO for $31 billion more than five years ago, Royal Dutch Shell and Britain’s BG Group merger is the biggest in the energy industry.

According to Shell, the merger is expected to create a company with more than 25% more oil and gas reserves, add 20% to its production, and allow Shell expand its project to East Africa and Latin America. BG shareholders are also expected to own about 19% of the combined company which will have a market capitalization of about $240 billion.

The merger is expected to produce savings of about $2.5 billion, and also cut overlapping costs and current spending on oil and energy exploration by nearly 50%. The BG board remained confident in the firm’s long-term prospects, but acknowledged Shell’s offer as a move to accelerate production.

Analysts however gave mixed reactions on the merger between Shell and BG Group Plc.

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