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Tuesday March 9, 2010
The Biggest Foreign Buyouts

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The Biggest Foreign Buyouts

by Ben Steverman

Anheuser-Busch (BUD) is not the first U.S. company to be swallowed by a foreign firm, and it certainly won't be the last. The announcement of Belgian brewer InBev's (INBVF) $52 billion buyout of Anheuser was followed by news on July 21 that Genentech (DNA) would be acquired by Swiss biotech company Roche Holdings (RHHVF), which offered $43.7 billion for the portion of Genentech it doesn't already own.

Both deals are among the largest foreign buyouts of U.S. companies ever.

The weak U.S. dollar and a stock market that has fallen 20% from its peak are making U.S. assets more attractive to overseas buyers these days. But while cheap valuations can give companies appeal as buyout targets, America's rocky economy and subprime financial crisis might be making some overseas acquirers think twice.

In the past five years, 2,331 U.S. companies with a total value of $772.3 billion were purchased by foreign buyers, according to data provider Capital IQ. The international buying has accelerated in recent years, with $294.4 billion in deals in 2007, up 90% from 2006 and five times the size of U.S. buyouts in 2003. So far in 2008 more than $121 billion in foreign acquisitions have been announced.

Here's a look at the largest foreign buyouts of U.S. firms in the last five years, as compiled by Capital IQ.