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NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market's big 2006 advance gave a boost to more than investment portfolios — it fueled a frenzied pace of mergers and acqusitions, with hedge funds and private equity shops sending the total value of acquisitions to a staggering $4 trillion.
This set a record for M&A, besting the dot-com boom in 2000, when the value of deals totaled $3.3 trillion, according to M&A tracking firm Dealogic. It gave Wall Street bankers a lot to smile about, especially given the astronomical bonuses doled out this year.
But, the little guy wasn't exactly left out either. All the robust acquisition activity gave investors confidence in corporate profits, and has helped send the Dow Jones industrial average to a record 12,000 and beyond.
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