As editor-in-chief Robert Teitelman writes, the buyout wave was building for years, but it was in 2006 that most CEOs decided to go private. According to him, all this was enabled by debt markets and banks that threw money at the LBO shops, already flush with cash from pension funds still trying to catch up from the last bubble. "Meanwhile, with the exception of energy giants, metal extractors and the occasional bank, most companies and their CEOs viewed M&A with the same horror as putting money into pension plans or Sarbanes-Oxley," Teitelman writes. "Instead they seemed content to cut costs and let cash pile up."

The special report ties together 19 essays plus a Deal Life column on toy soldier collectors. As Thomas Groppe, executive editor of electronic media, comes to find, these collectibles are a lifelong passion and a serious business where veterans of the hobby (which includes some of the very rich and powerful) spend countless hours on reconnaissance missions at trade shows seeking to expand their legions of rare figures and sets.

The following essays by The Deal's editors, senior writers and reporters collectively capture the activity, challenges, struggles, scandals and successes that made 2006 a pivotal year:

• "Answering to a new boss," by David Carey. Through their megabuyouts, private equity firms are poised to reshape corporate America.

• "Savior or curse?," by Jonathan Braude. Hedge funds are keeping many companies afloat, but what if the music stops?

• "Life on the edge," by Vipal Monga. How long can the good times last in the leveraged finance market?

• "Underlying values," by Lisa Gewirtz-Ward. With Kmart-Sears, Eddie Lampert saw real estate where others saw only underwear.

• "Not talking about a revolution," by Joshua Jaffe. The latest generation of Internet startups fails to impress.

• "Spinning wheels," by Lou Whiteman. After years of neglect, U.S. automakers face a day of reckoning.

• "Gearing up," by Olaf de Senerpont Domis. Semiconductor manufacturers plug into the wireless world.

• "Criminalizing a killing," by Vyvyan Tenorio. Private equity firms score big in Asia and land in hot water.

• "Reality check," by Renee Cordes. European ministers Kroes and McCreevy make an unlikely pair, but they've proven effective foes of creeping protectionism.

• "Guessing game," by Paul Whitfield. French business holds out hopes for labor market reform and privatization.

• "Pulling up SOX," by Bill McConnell. The U.S. IPO market share began tumbling long before Sarbanes-Oxley--one sign that the move against 'overregulation' is more about convenience than crisis.

• "Quarter-century funds," by Jonathan Braude. A new breed of investor is competing for some of Europe's biggest deals.

• "The reckoning," by Richard Morgan. Future uncertain, newspapers stagger forward, fumbling for a defensible position. But it's mighty difficult to separate peril and promise.

• "Local heroes," by Chris Nolter. Under Internet pressure, telecom and media companies seek new strategies to hook up with customers.

• "Gas-powered roller coaster," by Claire Poole. Commodity price volatility makes it tough for buyers and sellers to get together.

• "Coming soon to a location near you," by Mary Kathleen Flynn. Venture investment, M&A and other deals mark the rise of an important new technology.

• "Alternative power," by Clifford Carlsen. Overeager public policy may compromise boom times for cleantech investments.

• "Trick knee," by Tara Croft. The mating dance between Biomet and Smith & Nephew has been hobbled by structural problems in the orthopedics industry itself.

• "Smooth sailing, for now," by David Marcus. The Delaware courts have yet to disturb the LBO wave. But a single flawed deal can change all that.

About The Deal LLC

The Deal LLC is a diversified media company that is the authoritative voice of the deal economy. We serve the global deal community - corporate and financial dealmakers, advisers and institutional investors - by providing business and financial news and information that offers fresh insights on the deal economy, a set of interrelated activities, focused on dealmaking of all kinds, whose purpose is to generate corporate growth in a continually changing global market. We offer a comprehensive line of print and electronic product and services for both readers and advertisers, including The Deal, The Daily Deal, TheDeal.com, Corporate Dealmaker, Tech Confidential, Corporate Control Alert, Auction Block, Bankruptcy Insider, Deal Focus and VCDeal.com. 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.