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 This year was the biggest in terms of volume for busted transactions — those withdrawn after being announced — since the depths of the financial crisis eight years ago, as big takeovers by the likes of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the Oreo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 the 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
