The World's Largest M&A Deals in 2009 (PFE, WLA, GM, SGP, MRK)

Global mergers and acquisitions activity fell by a third so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters.

The largest deal for the year was the acquisition of Wyeth, one of the largest drug makers, by U.S. drug maker Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) in a deal worth $68bn. The deal is the biggest merger announced on the Wall Street since the credit crunch and the largest merger in the pharmaceutical industry since Pfizer bought Warner-Lambert (NYSE: WLA) for $93.4bn in 2000.

The second largest deal was the reorganization of US automaker General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) in which a government owned company called “Vehicle Acquisition Holdings” acquired certain assets for about $55.3bn.

The third largest completed deal for the calendar year was the acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp (NYSE: SGP) for $41.1 billion by Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK), uniting the makers of cholesterol drugs Zetia and Vytorin in the second megadeal in the global pharmaceutical industry during the year.

The U.K. Treasury pumped $41.9 billion of capital into Royal Bank of Scotland (ADR) (NYSE: RBS), making it the costliest bailout of any bank worldwide. The bank agreed to sell branches in England and Wales as well as the Sempra commodities trading division to allay competition concerns.

Among the re-structuring deals was also the Citigroup’s (NYSE: C) conversion of preferred shareholders providing $28 billion as capital to the banking major.

Suncor Energy Incorporation (NYSE: SU) acquired Petro-Canada in a deal valued at $18 billion as the two oil-sands giants bulk up to face lower oil prices and costly field development in the biggest global energy-sector merger in three years. This marked the fifth largest completed deal for 2009.