News of yesterday's $6.5 billion deal between Texas Instruments and National Semiconductor got everyone's juices flowing in terms of looking for the next buyout. In the first quarter, we witnessed $591 billion worth of merger activity, a 29% jump from the first quarter of last year.
Unfortunately, none of us has a crystal ball at our disposal, so predicting which company may be next is difficult -- but I figured I'd give it a try nonetheless. After rummaging through the Internet service and networking space, I've uncovered two companies that could make attractive takeover targets. Please keep in mind though that these are mere starting points for further research and not whole-hearted endorsements.
Yahooooooooo!
I don't think any Internet consolidation discussion would be complete without discussing the possibility of Yahoo!
Yahoo! is more than just a search engine behemoth that has generated $1 billion-plus in operating cash flow in the trailing 12 months and has about $3.6 billion in cash on hand. The reality though is that Yahoo!'s rivals Google
As for potential suitors, I feel Microsoft
But don't count out Disney
Dial-up dollars
I can only imagine the look on your face when I tell you that EarthLink
One company that might be sweet on acquiring EarthLink is longtime networking partner Time Warner
Care to venture a guess at the next takeover target? Share your thoughts below in the comments section and consider tracking my predictions as well as your own personalized basket of stocks with My Watchlist.
Yahoo! is a Motley Fool Global Gains selection. Walt Disney is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. Google and Microsoft are Motley Fool Inside Value picks. Google and Baidu are Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendations. Motley Fool Options has recommended a diagonal call position on Microsoft. The Fool owns shares of Google, Microsoft, and Texas Instruments.
Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. He would like to remind you not to forget about our friends in Japan who could use a helping hand. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy that's never slowed down by dial-up.