"Wasserstein is widely recognized as the father of modern-day mergers and acquisitions... [He] explains what drives mergers and how they get done." - USA Today "Informative and entertaining." - Kirkus Reviews Big Deal is a penetrating look at the world of mergers and acquisitions by the legendary Bruce Wasserstein. Using compelling case studies, he reveals the inside story of the billion dollar deals that shape America's economy.
With more than one thousand deals under his belt, including many of the largest, Bruce Wasserstein is uniquely positioned to tell the story of the buyouts, mergers, and takeovers that have created the extraordinary changes in the corporate landscape over the past three decades. In Big Deal, Bruce Wasserstein captures the evolution of modern deal-making - from the go-go conglomerate days of the 1960s and 1970s ... to the hostile takeover environment of the 1980s ... to the billion-dollar strategic corporate deals of the 1990s. He unveils the details of major transactions and portrays key individuals. And he offers a front-row seat to the most famous takeover brawls of our time, providing a rare opportunity to watch Viacom, ITT, Time Warner, AT&T, IBM, and heavy hitters Henry Kravis, Ron Perelman, Barry Diller, and others in action.