M&A revival without investment bankers

AFTER TWO YEARS of falling volumes, a sorry-looking deal pipeline and mass lay-offs in the M&A market, the final quarter of 2003 brought a sudden revival. Deals worth over $80 billion were announced on a single day, October 27, the biggest volumes recorded since the height of the M&A boom in 2000. Bank of America provided the icing on the cake when it announced that it was paying around $47 billion in an all-stock deal for FleetBoston.

This is great news for the advising banks. Goldman worked on four of these deals, advising Bank of America on Fleet Boston, Anthem on the acquisition of WellPoint Health Networks, BAT on Brown & Williamson's merger with RJ Reynolds, and United Health on the purchase of Mid Atlantic Medical Services. It happily raked in the cash while advancing its lead at the top of the M&A league tables globally....