Best in M&A Awards: Mergers & Acquistions Congratulates the Winners in Nine Categories of the First Annual

The winners in the final three categories will be announced on February 2, 2000, at our awards reception, which will be held at the United Nations in New York. Winners also will be listed in the February issue of M&A. These three categories are: Deal of the Year, Deal of the Decade, M&A Investment Bank of the Year The winners already chosen are: M&A Banker of the Year Frank Quattrone, Managing Director, Credit Suisse First Boston A veteran of 20 years in investment banking, Quattrone is a longtime specialist in technology deals and head of the CSFB Technology Group. Quattrone joined CSFB in July 1998 after 17 years with Morgan Stanley, where he helped build and manage the firm’s Global Technology Investment Banking Group. Among the recent deals handled by Quattrone’s group were Lucent Technologies’ $21 billion acquisition of Ascend Communications and Cisco Systems’ $7.5 billion acquisition of privately owned Cerent. Acquiring Company Of the Year Lucent Technologies Inc. Since it was cut loose by AT&T Corp. in 1996, Lucent has been a bold and frequent buyer of businesses designed to execute its strategy of being a leader in the rapidly evolving world of telecommunication, computer, and business communication systems. Dealmaking not only accelerated in 1999 but scored the firm’s biggest acquisition coup when the company took over Ascend Communications Inc., the nation’s third-largest computer network products manufacturer, in a deal valued at more than $21 billion. Other key acquisitions in 1999 included Excel Switching Corp., telecom network switching products, $1.5 billion; Kenan Systems Corp., customer service software, $1.5 billion; Nexabit Networks Inc., Internet hardware and high-speed switches, $896 million; and Xedia Inc., access routers, $290 million. Best Corporate M&A Officer Irving Gutin, Senior Vice President, Tyco International Ltd. Rarely does a year go by in which Tyco, one of the last practitioners of multi-market operations, doesn’t execute a number of significant acquisitions in support of its fire protection, security electrical and electronic packaging materials, and health care products businesses. Gutin is the longtime driver of the firm’s acquisition program. Deals are moving upscale in size and importance on the basis of 1999 activity, which included the $11.8 billion acquisition of connectors maker AMP, the $3 billion acquisition of high-performance electronics firm Raychem, and the purchase of Siemens AG’s electromechanical operations for $1.1 billion. M&A Mid-Market Bank of the Year Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Although prominent in many large deals, DLJ remains committed to offering craftsmanship and innovation in mid-sized transactions. The firm maintains a group of senior bankers dedicated exclusively to deals in the $50 million to $500 million range. DLJ also prides itself on having a more balanced mix of public and private company clients – of the type most likely to buy and sell in the middle market – than larger competitors. Mid-Market Deal Of the Year J.C. Penney Co.’s Acquisition of Genovese Drug Stores Inc. Investment Bankers: Credit Suisse First Boston for J.C. Penney; Goldman, Sachs for Genovese J.C. Penney operates an eponymous general merchandise chain and Eckerd Drug Stores, one of the largest drug chains in the U.S. The addition of Melville, N.Y.-based Genovese, acquired in a $427 million deal, fills a major gap in Eckerd’s territory, because it had no major presence in the New York City area. Genovese brought in about 135 stores. Best Strategic Deal Of the Year Merger of AlliedSignal Inc. and Honeywell Inc. Investment Bankers: Bear, Stearns for Honeywell; J.P. Morgan for AlliedSignal In a $15.5 billion deal, these premier industrial companies joined forces to offer a broad array of products around the world to customers in the aerospace, construction, and automotive industries, among others. The most direct linkage is in aerospace, where AlliedSignal’s environmental controls and avionics operations blend with Honeywell’s electronic controls business and enable the combined company to offer more products to a smaller base of aircraft manufacturers. AlliedSignal also contributes automotive products, specialty chemicals, turbines, and performance polymers and Honeywell adds its controls for buildings and homes. LBO Deal of the Year Allied Waste Inc.’s Acquisition of Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. Investment Bankers: Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Chase Manhattan, and Salomon Smith Barney for Allied; Goldman, Sachs for Browning-Ferris The deal linking two large players in the consolidating waste disposal industry employed leveraging techniques rarely used in financing mergers or acquisitions of operating companies. However, the model could find increasing use as deals become larger and more expensive. In one novel aspect, leveraged experts Apollo Associates and Blackstone Group invested $1 billion in return for substantial stakes in the combined firm. In another, DLJ helped sell $2 billion worth of high-yield financing to supply additional acquisition funding. Cross-Border Deal Of the Year Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Acquisition of ASDA Group PLC Investment Bankers: Wasserstein Perella and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson for Wal-Mart; Merrill Lynch and Cazenove for ASDA America’s largest retailer served notice that it means business about expanding into a global operator by snapping up ASDA, the U.K.’s largest supermarket chain, in a $10.8 billion tender offer. While Wal-Mart earlier had gained a European foothold by acquiring hypermarket chains in Germany, its acquisition of ASDA is considered its heaviest move outside of the U.S. to date. Most Creative Finan-cing Deal of the Year Nevada Power Co.’s acquisition of Sierra Pacific Resources Co. Investment Bankers: PaineWebber for Nevada Power; Merrill Lynch and SG Barr Devlin for Sierra Pacific This utility transaction, valued at $4.3 billion, pioneered the “dual cash exchange” format in mergers of equals, as devised by PaineWebber. For the first time, shareholders of both companies coming together were offered a choice of taking stock in the new company or taking cash. The arrangement was designed to limit the number of shares in the new company and secure the dividend. The concept was emulated in other utility mergers, including Unicom and PECO Energy, Dominion Resources and Consoli-dated Natural Gas, SCANA and Public Service of North Carolina, and BEC Energy and Common-wealth Energy.