McDonald was right: Exxon buys XTO Energy

Last week, Coffee Talk cited a conversation with John McDonald, senior managing director at Hyde Park Capital Partners, about the current market for mergers and acquisitions.

McDonald talked about “a different kind of buyer in this economy,” noting a shift in buying power from private equity sources to the many corporations that had saved up cash during the boom.

Said McDonald, “We're back to where we were over a decade ago.” He said to expect big corporations flush with cash to drive mergers and acquisitions. McDonald appears to have been prophetic.

On Monday, Exxon Mobil announced the purchase of XTO Energy, a natural gas producer, for a package totaling $41 billion ($31 billion in stock, $10 billion in assumed debt). According to the New York Times, the deal constitutes “the largest energy merger in years.”