Faceoff

For decades, one of the heirs of the founder of Allen & Co. has been funding the machinations of a smooth-talking dealmaker. Now, as bankruptcy looms, the question arises: Was this just a rich man's whim or a con job?

Edwin del Hierro sees private equity opportunities for banks.

Investment bank's moves raise questions about those named, those not.

Dell's $3.9 billion purchase of Perot Systems represents the culmination of several long relationships with the computer maker.

Darwin Deason finally gets his agreement to sell Affiliated Computer Services.

Buyout shops attempted to employ an old strategy to put money to work in the Sepracor deal before a strategic swallowed the pharma.

Omniture's new CEO arrived only months after selling his prior company.

A year after the worst financial meltdown since the 1920s, capital markets are giving the country's banks a vote of confidence. Whether that turns out to have been a good idea or not, the surge in capital raising, combined with a stream of bank seizures and generous terms offered by the government to acquirers, is prompting a consolidation wave that could rival any on record.

Financial overhaul legislation will almost certainly be less ambitious than its drafters at the Treasury Department had intended, with a cobbled-together look and a lack of ideological cleanliness. In other words, it will have a fighting chance of passage.

Xerox and Dell strike big acquisitions to expand their offerings beyond mere hardware. Now they must make these deals work.

The old Lehman assets have given Barclays Capital a boost. How far can it go?

Ministers fancy themselves as high-powered investors. Are they too generous to banks or too intrusive?

KKR has a long history with PIPEs, but it offered a few new twists with its stake in Kodak. It remains to be seen whether Kodak-style debt deals become the norm in PIPEs.

Mohamad Ali has done plenty of deals, but helping transform Avaya ahead of an anticipated IPO is a new experience.

Like many new technologies, cloud computing generates hype, derision and, for some, revenue. How big is it going to get, and when will IT departments view it as a truly viable option?

CF Industries steps up its plan to acquire Terra by taking a stake in the company in the open market.

We look at Keynes and his lost age and wonder: Who lived a richer life?

There's more than one way to cap your pommel. Find four investors willing to give you $250 million each so you have the time to figure out Twitter's business model.

First the media cheered a merger frenzy. Then it condemned M&A as a con job. Has it dawned on anyone that both notions might be wrong?

In Trados, Delaware signals that directors should think twice about striking a deal that leaves common shareholders with nothing.

As the Lehman remembrance festival ends, some former insiders offer thoughts on Dick Fuld, Henry Paulson and what went wrong.

A new book reveals the failings of the media giants, but its eager revisionism could use some updating.

Jonathan Leibowitz's call to expand a rarely used provision of the FTC Act sparks alarm among business leaders.

Five questions you need to ask before investing in the U.S.

In the nine years since its adoption by the SEC, Reg FD enforcement has offered many lessons.

CEOs must accept the role of an active, informed board — or else be forced to by institutional investors.