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Article: Whither the great wave? Mergers and acquisitions.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 5, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The greatest ever merger wave is changing shape--but it may not be breaking yet
"IT'S A bump in the road, but not an unhealthy one," says David Rubenstein. The morning after paying $21.3m for a copy of the Magna Carta dating from 1297, the boss of the Carlyle Group, a big private-equity firm, is in the mood to take the long view. The golden era of private equity is probably over, he concedes. "After a great ride for five years, private equity is entering a more challenging period," he predicts. Returns are likely to come down, if only because they have been so high, he says. But the industry has been through downturns before, and each time "changes were made and ...