Here are the top five acquisitions and mergers of the 21st century

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Here are the top five acquisitions and mergers of the 21st century
The acquisition of Twitter by Tesla co-founder Elon Musk for $42 billion is a huge deal and has become the talk of the town. However, there have been several deals which are substantially bigger than this, even crossing the $100 billion mark.

In this post, we look at some of the biggest acquisitions of the 21st century. The deals include the merger of AOL and Time Warner, the acquisition of Verizon Wireless and the merger of Heinz and Kraft.
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AOL and Time Warner – $182 billion

AOL and Time Warner – $182 billion
Wikimedia

In 2000, AOL, an online service provider, announced the acquisition of Time Warner for $182 billion, making it the biggest acquisition of the century. After the merger, AOL shareholders owned 55% of the entity and Time Warner shareholders were left with the remaining 45%.

Gaz de France and Suez – $182 billion

Gaz de France and Suez – $182 billion
Wikipedia

French companies Gaz de France and Suez announced a merger in 2007 and the country’s president Nicholas Sarkozy himself stepped in to ensure the merger goes through. The new company, Suez Environment made its debut in the Paris and Brussels stock exchange in July 2008.

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Verizon Wireless – $130 billion

Verizon Wireless – $130 billion
Wikimedia

Verizon Communications acquired a 45% stake from Vodafone, gaining complete control of the entity for $130 billion, making it one of the biggest deals ever. The deal was completed in 2014 and proved to be quite beneficial for Verizon.

Dow Chemical and Dupont – $130 billion

Dow Chemical and Dupont – $130 billion
Wikimedia

Dow Chemical and Dupont announced a merger in 2015 in a deal valued around $130 billion. However, the merger was short-lived as the new company was split into three separate companies in 2019.

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Heinz and Kraft – $100 billion

Heinz and Kraft – $100 billion
Heinz and Kraft

Food companies H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods Group announced a merger to form the Kraft Heinz Company in 2016 in a deal valued at nearly $100 billion. However, the new company did not report any significant increase in revenue and the deal did not work in its favor.