Mergers and Acquisitions

The pet supply retailer accepted an $8.7 billion offer to be acquired by a private equity group led by BC Partners, marking the year’s biggest leveraged buyout.

Merck will buy Cubist Pharmaceuticals in a $9.5 billion deal, giving the major drugmaker an entry into the market for drugs that target so-called superbugs.

Who said breaking up was hard to do? For big, old-name technology companies that have seen a pick-up in deal activity over the last year… it’s becoming easier to say farewell.

Halliburton scored a $34.6 billion deal to buy Baker Hughes, as the oilfield services companies look to defend against cheaper oil and industry leader Schlumberger.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy Procter & Gamble's  Duracell battery business in a $4.7 billion pact.

Halliburton is in talks to acquire rival oilfield services company Baker Hughes, according to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal.

Alliant Techsystems is taking a second look at its merger with Orbital Sciences, whose unmanned NASA rocket exploded after liftoff Tuesday night.

After months of speculation that Google was close to finalizing a deal to buy Twitch Interactive, Amazon has announced that it will be purchasing the gaming platform for $970 million in cash.

On the heels of veterinary-care company VCA’s acquisition of pet-boarding franchise Camp Bow Wow, dog-sitting startup Rover.com is announcing its own purchase in the pet-care space.

Shares of 21st Century Fox jumped 8.6% after hours following an announcement that it was withdrawing a bid to buy Time Warner, whose shares sunk 11%  on the news.

Reynolds American is acquiring competitor Lorillard, but plans to sell off some brands to rival Imperial in the process, including e-cigarette brand blu.

U.S. health-care companies are stepping up efforts to merge with rivals from overseas, seeking to benefit from lower tax rates in countries like the UK.

The agricultural commodities group will acquire the food favors and specialty ingredients firm for $3 billion cash, will assume $136 million of net debt.

Hillshire Brands formally agreed to a $7.7 billion deal to be acquired by Tyson Foods, which has long sought to expand its portfolio of branded products sold in grocery stores.

Twitter had multiple mobile ad announcements on Monday, including its acquisition of TapCommerce, a New York advertising technology firm. The social media company is also introducing ads for mobile app installations.

TreeHouse Foods reached a deal with private equity firm Gryphon Investors to buy Flagstone Foods for $860 million, as the company continues to diversify its private-label offerings.

Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc cut its earnings forecast for 2014 and said it is proving to be a "complex and truly atypical" year for the company.

Alcoa reached a deal with Oak Hill Capital Partners to buy Firth Rixson, a maker of jet engine parts, for $2.85 billion.

Google's Nest Labs will buy home-monitoring camera startup Dropcam for about $555 million in cash, taking another step deeper into consumers' homes.

Wisconsin Energy has a deal in place to acquire Integrys Energy Group for $5.71 billion, expanding the utility company's reach to more markets in the Midwest.