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Six blockbuster deals from around the globe

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When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, the takeover of Nexen Inc. by China’s CNOOC Ltd. dominated both business and political conversation in Canada this year. <br/> But while Canadians wondered about net benefit tests and foreign state-owned enterprises, there were far bigger international deals going down. In fact, Nexen’s $15.1-billion price tag ranks twelfth when compared to the value of other major M&A activity in 2012. <br/> So what bumped Nexen out of the major leagues? Here is a rundown of the year’s top six deals by size, based on data compiled by Thomson Reuters. (All figures in U.S. dollars.)FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press

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No. 6 <br/> <b>Target: Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA) <br/> Acquirer: Spain’s Fund for the Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB)</b> The $23.8-billion that Spanish government rescue fund FROB spent acquiring BFA, the parent company of several regional banks under the name Bankia SA, wasn’t truly a buy, but a bailout. <br/> In May the country’s third-largest lender said it needed the funds to avoid a collapse, although the amount was more than the government had originally estimated. The bailout led to fears of a run on Bankia, which had been left with many toxic real estate loans after the Spanish housing bubble burst in 2008. <br/> The bailout increased public concern over Spain’s struggle through the European debt crisis, and paved the way for an overhaul of the country’s banking sector -- the restructuring plan funded and approved of by the European Union won regulator consent in late November.Daniel Ochoa de Olza/The Associated Press

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No.’s 5 and 4<br/> <b>Target: TNK-BP <br/> Acquirer: NK Rosneft </b> Rosneft’s megadeal to buy Russia's third-largest oil business, TNK, for $55-billion in Russia’s largest takeover ever was actually an acquisition in two parts. <br/> First, the state-controlled oil company had to negotiate with BP Plc for its half of TNK-BP, which cost $26.5-billion in cash and shares. As part of the agreement, BP agreed to reinvest $4.8-billion back in Rosneft by purchasing government shares. <br/> In the second phase, Rosneft negotiated with a group of Russian billionaires under the name AAR. In this deal Rosneft agreed to pay $28-billion for the stake. <br/> On top of creating the largest public crude producer in the world, the deal was also a big win for President Vladimir Putin, who is working to show his political challengers he can advance his plans to nationalize Russian resources (in hopes of turning Russia into an energy superpower). According to reports, the deal will allow Rosneft to put more energy and money into exploration and new development of the country’s energy reserves. <br/> Grouped together, these two deals would have made the Rosneft acquisition of TNK-BP the second-largest deal of the year.DENIS SINYAKOV/Reuters

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No. 3 <br/> <b>Target: Kraft Foods Group <br/> Acquirer: Shareholders</b> Kraft Foods Inc.’s decision to spin off its North American grocery business and change its name to Mondelez International, Inc. is another of the year’s big deals, but it’s not a typical takeover story. <br/> After deciding to separate its grocery manufacturing unit, Mondelez distributed to shareholders all its outstanding shares of Kraft Foods Group common stock. This was based on a ratio of one share of Kraft for every three Mondelez shares in a move worth $36.1-billion. <br/> This marked a new era for Mondelez, which plans to capitalize on increasing demand of on-the-go products like cookies, chocolate and gum thanks to a growing emerging markets-based middle class. These economies are expected to make up half of the company’s revenues in the next three years.JOHN GRESS/Reuters

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No. 2 <br/> <b>Target: Xstrata PLC <br/> Acquirer: Glencore International PLC </b> Although it’s still awaiting antitrust clearance from China and South Africa, holding company Glencore’s bid for miner Xstrata is very nearly complete. <br/> Glencore, which does business in the metals and minerals, energy and agriculture industries made the bid for coal and zinc miner Xstrata back in February in a deal valued at $45.8-billion. The deal is down to the final hurdles after gaining shareholder and European Commission regulatory approval. <br/> It was originally thought that Glencore might have trouble getting the EU’s blessing to create one of the world’s largest zinc miners due to the metal’s importance to many of the region’s industries. However, Glencore’s decision to abandon an agreement with another large zinc producer and sell its investment in the firm allowed the deal to go ahead. This allows Glencore to extend its reach while leaving zinc prices at reasonable levels.© Michael Buholzer / Reuters/Reuters

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No. 1 <br/> <b>Target: Abbott Laboratories <br/> Acquirer: Shareholders </b> Abbott Labs announced its intention to split into two different companies late last year, and this year it moved ahead with that plan in a deal valued at $55.3-billion. <br/> The agreement leaves Abbott with units focused on medical devices, nutritionals and diagnostics. The company is spinning off the research and pharmaceuticals business into a separate company called AbbVie. <br/> The board approved the split in late November and for each share an Abbott investor owns, he or she will be given one share in AbbVie by the time the stock hits the NYSE in the New Year. Abbott will not retain any ownership in the new company, however. <br/> Much like the Kraft spinoff, Abbott’s chief executive cited shareholder value as the key reason for the company’s decision to break up. But some analysts pointed out that this move will also help investors to better align with their desired levels of risk. AbbVie is a business focused on North America (the U.S. in particular), and investing in drugs can be riskier because the development pipeline can be uncertain. That might appeal to a different investor than a company that sells stents around the world. It’s also possible that a Big Pharma player could snap up the new offshoot. <br/> But perhaps not. The last few years have brought a series of spinoffs from drug companies, which seem to have concluded bigger isn’t always better. Elan Corp., an Irish pharmaceutical company, broke its research division off earlier this year, for example, and Indian drug-maker Sun Pharmaceuticals announced plans to spin off its domestic formulation business.The Associated Press

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