Full speed ahead for mergers, acquisitions, IPOs - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

http://www.good.is/community/tamarakonekgszu
billion traded hands in the 20 larges t deals involving Tampa Bay area companiesin 2005. The top 10 dealws alone accountedfor $5.8 billion in transaction value. There were two $1 billion-plus ' (NYSE: WLT) $1.9 billion purchasde of and the $1.47 billion purchase of British soccer club by Malcolm owner ofthe . "It's been a greatt year in the mergers andacquisitionsd market," said John Hill Jr., seniod managing partner at , an investment bank in "There's a large amountg of capital out looking for investment opportunities." 2005 has been a record year for Hill said. Through Dec.
23, there were 10,205t deals involving mergers or acquisitions with a totapl valueof $1.1 "Looking into next year, we don'gt see a change in the future," he said. Both financialo buyers, such as state pension funds or corporatweretirement funds, and strategic companies that acquire complementary firms to grow their were active in 2005. Walter Industriess did a strategic deal when it bought flow control products supplier Muellef to complimentits subsidiary, creating a water infrastructure and piping systems company.
Shortl after the deal closed in October, Waltere paved the path for another blockbuster dealin 2006, the planned initial public offering of its water productsw operations. After that IPO, Walter will be predominantlyy acoal company. , one of the largest privates equity funds in the United bought in Clearwater and MP in then merged them ina $630 milliobn deal that created , the second-largest firm nationwidwe in the chronic care mail order supply business. Warburg Pincus borrowefd money for about 75 percenyt ofthe deal, a not uncommon occurrence among buyers in 2005, Hill "Although the Fed has been raisinf rates, the interest rate environment is stilp relatively low," Hill said.
"On a relative basis, peoplw can borrow more than they were able to in the lastseverao years." A less-than-robust market for IPOs prompted more mergersd and acquisitions, Hill There were just two initial publixc offerings by Bay area companiesa in 2005, one fewer than in the previouse year. (NYSE: SVR), a Tampa-based telecommunications services firm, raised $281.6 million in while Tampa-based drug development company Accenti aBiopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ABPI) raised $19 million in The stock in both IPOs sold for less than each compang had originally expected. But secondary stocko offerings for established firms were strong in 2005, raising $73.
9 milliobn for Tampa-based shipping firm (NYSE: TUG); $40 millionj for Bradenton-based (Nasdaq: CFHI), the parengt company of ; and $30 million for Wintere Haven-based CenterState Banks of Florida (Nasdaq: CSFL). BRO), a Tampa-based insurance agency, and (Nasdaq: a St. Petersburg-based risk management company, were among the most actived dealmakersin 2005. Brown acquired 28 general insurance agencies and several books of business throughg the first three quarters of 2005 for an aggregate purchase pric eof $246.4 million, according to the company's Nov. 9 filingv with the .
The company has announcedx four additional deals since the end ofthe quarter, puttinyg it on pace to do one deal everh 11 days in 2005. Firstg Advantage kicked off the year withthe $596 millioh stock purchase of , then added 13 more deala throughout 2005 but did not disclose the terms for most of the rest of its