Walt Disney Company's $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019 is one of the largest mergers and purchases of all time. These massive deals are often hailed as successes, but the truth is that many M&As fail to be successful. From overpaying for the deal to strong cultural differences, the causes for failure are many and varied. It's important to learn from the mistakes of others. Our free guide offers insights into how businesses can avoid a disastrous M&A deal.

M&A activity decreased in the second period of 2022 because of volatility in capital markets. There are indications that the pace could increase in the near future for strategic transactions.

When companies merge generally, they use two processes that include mergers and acquisitions. A merger is the amalgamation of two companies to form one entity. An acquisition is the acquisition of an organization, either with cash or through debt before incorporating it into your business operations.

In an acquisition, the buying company buys all the assets and liabilities of the person it is buying from, leaving nothing but cash (and possibly debt). Blackstone's purchase of Italian infrastructure company Atlantia for $28,6 billion as well as Brookfield's purchase of Deutsche Funkturm tower business for $5 billion are two examples.

US private equity firms have been a part of the trend of he has a good point buying European assets. Seven of the top 10 deals in the last year were involving US PE firms, including the $28.6 billion purchase of Atlantia by Blackstone and the $28.6 billion takeover of the Celgene cancer drug company by Bristol-Myers Squibb.