Knowledge@wharton

If the past month is any indicator acquisitions are not only thawing but heating up. In October Comcast made a bid to merge its operations with NBC Universal to create a cable programming giant. In early November Kraft Foods announced a $16.5 billion bid for U.K.-based chocolate maker Cadbury -- also being sought by confectioners Hershey and Ferrero. The activity spans several sectors including technology with Hewlett Packard’s agreement to purchase 3Com for $2.7 billion and Google’s $750 million acquisition of AdMob. What’s behind this shopping spree and is the trend likely to continue? Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton management professor Larry Hrebiniak and finance professor Pavel Savor about M&A strategy in a post-recession environment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.