Deals of the year 2010: MetLife’s acquisition of Alico

At the end of a fraught weekend in September 2008, David Platter, managing director of Credit Suisse’s financial institutions group, walked out of the key meeting in which Barclays sealed its deal to buy Lehman. Leaning back to stare up at the Manhattan skyline, he noticed the AIG building. Every light, on every floor, was shining. What might be happening there? he wondered.