Ecord-breaking year in deals

Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group

When Royal Dutch Shell agreed to buy BG Group in April, oil prices had taken a steep fall from their 2014 highs. But they were going to get a lot worse. Oil and gas company Shell agreed to buy BG Group for $69.83 billion to expand its liquid natural gas business. Natural gas prices have tumbled since then, and in December they reached their lowest levels in 16 years.

Dell and EMC

In October, PC maker Dell agreed to pay $65.97 billion for EMC, which makes data storage hardware and sells cloud storage and security products. Dell’s personal computer sales have been weak for years, but the company has been expanding its software and service businesses. Dell was taken private in 2013 by founder and CEO Michael Dell.

Dow Chemical and DuPont

Dow Chemical agreed to buy competitor DuPont in a deal that will combine two chemicals companies that were founded in the 19th century. Both Dow and DuPont were pushed by activist investors to break up or find other ways to revitalize their businesses. When the $62.38 billion deal closes, Dow DuPont will make products including styrofoam insulation, teflon coatings and nylon and kevlar fibres. Dow DuPont will then break into three separate companies with

more specific focuses.

Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable

Charter Communications agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $56.80 billion in May, and it will also spend about $10 billion to buy Bright House Networks. That will make Charter one of the largest providers of TV and internet services in the US. Cable provider Comcast tried to buy Time Warner in 2014, but the US government opposed that deal.

Heinz and Kraft F oods

One of the largest food companies in the world was formed when H.J. Heinz bought Kraft Foods for $53.83 billion. The purchase, which was announced in March and closed in July, brought together brands including Oscar Meyer, Capri Sun, Ore-Ida, Maxwell House, Kool-Aid and Heinz ketchup. The tie-up was engineered by Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital.

Anthem buys Cigna

A wave of health insurance combinations swept the market in July as Anthem announced it would buy Cigna for $51.93 billion just after Aetna said it would buy Humana for $35.04 billion. Anthem is the second-largest US insurance company in terms of enrolment, and Cigna is fourth. The combined company would cover almost 50 million people. Anthem sells health coverage to individuals and employees of small businesses and serves Medicare, Medicaid and federal employees. Cigna sells group disability and life insurance in the US and has an international business.

EBay spins off PayPal

Online commerce giant EBay spun off its payments system unit PayPal for $49.16 billion in July. That was almost a year after eBay announced PayPal would become a separate company. Investors value PayPal more highly than its former parent, as PayPal has a market capitalization of about $45 billion compared to eBay’s $33 billion.

Teva buying Allergan Generics

Teva, an Israeli company that is already the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, will get even bigger by buying the generic drugs business of Botox maker Allergan. Teva had been looking to expand, as earlier in the year it pushed to buy generic drug maker Mylan. It dropped that bid after agreeing to its $40.5 billion deal with Allergan.