THE DEAL LOOKS BACK AT THE YEAR'S MOST CRITICAL EVENTS IN THE DEAL COMMUNITY THAT HAS FORCED A BROAD RETHINKING

The newsweekly's senior writers weigh in on the deals and dealmakers that define the ups and downs in a historic year

December 23, 2002--New York, N.Y.--The Deal, (www.TheDeal.com) the newsweekly serving the deal community, offers a comprehensive analysis of the dealmaking activity that shook up key industries and shaped the core deal sectors over the past year in its third annual year-end round up.

In the introduction, Satyricon 2002, editor in chief Robert Teitelman presents his perspective on why this year stands out, "If 2001 was year of a few big earthquakes - Sept. 11 and Enron's collapse - 2002 was a regime of electrical shocks. Zap. Zap. In light of conventional wisdom, spawned after the bubble burst and Enron failed, synergies became conflicts and what was once good, is now evil or indictably bad, at least unsavory.

In the pages that follow, The Deal's seasoned financial journalists bring their industry-specific knowledge and global views to make sense of past and provide insight for where sectors, deals and dealmakers may tread next year. Thirteen essays, plus Deal Sense, the newsweekly's commentary written by Jeffrey Kanige, collectively capture the frenzied activity, challenges, struggles, scandals and successes that made 2002 an unforgettable year for both deals and dealmakers. Among them are:

• "Hats off" sums up consolidation trends in the middle-market, the focus of many of today's M&A activity, through a single company, Hat World

• "Flight from reality" looks at the major airline's struggle for profitability suggests that consolidation may be their last hope

• "Desperate measures" reveals how oil and utility companies stay ahead - selling off assets - not surprising that the biggest energy industry deals were divestitures

• "Down and out in Delaware" details the shift to New York and Chicago bankruptcy courts, especially for marquee cases, in part because of the heavy case load in Delaware

• "Trading places" explores why, despite great expectations, consolidation did not sweep the exchange world in 2002. On the other hand, the story describes how there are many expectations of exchange IPOs in the year to come

• "Gorilla warfare" traces the pattern of the tech shakeout, with few companies taking control, and many smaller players struggling to survive

About The Deal
The Deal is a diversified media company dedicated to providing must-read financial news, commentary, data and services to corporate and financial dealmakers, their advisers and investors worldwide. Through The Deal, The Daily Deal, TheDeal.com and Corporate Control Alert, the company gathers, reports and disseminates information that offers a detailed look at transactions, industry sectors and financial services, along with the personalities and players who are the central figures driving change in the global economy. Investors in The Deal, a privately held company, include majority owner U.S. Equity Partners, a private investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co. LP, and Rustic Canyon Ventures, one of the largest venture capital funds in Southern California.