Business mergers are so much like weddings! Some of them are so successful that they become the talk of the town. America has seen some of the greatest business mergers worth talking about. Just like successfully wed couples, these merged companies are exemplary in setting new trends in doing business. A merger, like a wedding, is not a simple exchange of vows (agreement contracts). A lot of intellectual and materialistic transactions take place and that is a flippant affair by no means.  Let’s see some of the best mergers that have happened in America and why we consider them the best.

AOL And Time Warner- The Tragedy

Not all weddings are success stories and so is true with all mergers too. It’s painful to see that some great weddings end in tragedy and so do some mergers. The AOL and Time Warner merger is one such.  The merger of America Online, the ace Internet Service Provider and media honcho, Time Warner, is the greatest business mergers in American history. But like the Prince Charles and Lady Diana wedding, one of the greatest matrimonial events of the world, the relationship turned sour and ended up tragically. Now, the two companies are separate entities once more. The aim of the merger was to blend entertainment and internet technology in a novel way, but it’s said the plan never worked.

Pfizer and Warner Lambert – The Success Story

In 1999, drug giant, Pfizer, like a desperate suitor wooed Warner Lambert, the drug Queen into joining hands which resulted in the fast birth of an offspring called Lipitor which has become a hit drug of all times for lowering cholesterol. Behind every successful man, there is a woman! It is said that today Pfizer enjoys a decade of uncontested dominance in the drug market because of the companionship of Warner Lambert. Long live the successful merger!

Exxon Mobil – Survival of Love

In 1999, another pair that went into a revolutionary merger was that of petroleum giants Exxon and Mobil that changed the entire petroleum world. The merger, like many love marriages, was not an easy one. The Federal Trade Commission, like nosey parents, made the merger difficult and did not approve of it till, the companies decided to sell off more than 2,400 gas stations. Later too, they suffered bad reputation by being charged with corruption, but like sincere lovers, they unflinchingly trudged on in their path to success, a tremendous degree of which they experienced in the recent years.

Citicorp And Travelers Group – A Mind Boggling Stock Market Trend Setting Merger

Citicorp and Travelers Group, joined together to form what is expected to be the biggest financial services company of the world. The merger has changed the dynamics of the stocks.

The other big mergers of America that are worth taking a note of are those of Bank Of America Nations Bank, known today as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase & Bank One Corp, Proctor & Gamble and Gillette, Quest & US West, GTE & Bell Atlantic, AT&T and TCI, and SBC and Ameritech.