Busted merger deals of 2016

It may not have been a banner year for striking deals, but 2016 was a healthy time for breaking them. This year was the biggest in terms of volume for busted transactions — those withdrawn after being announced — since the depths of the financial crisis eight years ago, as big takeovers by the likes of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the Oreo maker Mondelez and the office supply retailer Staples were consigned to the scrap heap. The broken deals represent almost a quarter of the $3.55 trillion in transactions announced over the past 12 months. Here is a look:

Pfizer and Allergan
 

Size of Deal: $152 Billion
A union would have been the biggest takeover in 15 years. But the Obama administration tweaked tax rules, leading the two to eventually part ways

Honeywell  & United Technologies

Size of deal: $90 billion

United Technologies’ desire to strike a deal fell as its stock price declined, while its executives disagreed with their Honeywell counterparts 

Energy Transfer Equity and Williams Companies

Size of deal: $32.7 billion

Slump in oil prices made the deal too expensive, leaving Energy Transfer to fight in the courts for  termination of the deal

Anbang Insurance and Starwood Hotels

Size of deal: $14 billion

Anbang mysteriously withdrew its takeover bid with a polite letter, leaving advisors wondering 

Halliburton and Baker Hughes

Size of deal: $35 billion

Justice Department sued to prevent the merger on antitrust grounds. The drop in oil prices since 2014 had impinged upon the two companies’ ability to sell off business to appease government regulators

Mondelez International and Hershey

Size of deal: $23 billion

Hershey’s demands for a higher price to the legal uncertainty that surrounded biggest shareholder ultimately scuppered the bid

Staples and Office Depot

Size of deal: $6.3 billion

Federal Trade Commission sued to block the proposed union on competitive grounds