DONE DEAL! M&A Activity of the Week, Jan 23

January 23, 2011

We didn’t have as much deal activity as last week, but based on the rumors we’re bound to see some solid mergers and acquisitions soon!

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to mergers and acquisitions completed last week:

It’s no longer a rumor: Comerica (NYSE:CMA) will acquire Sterling Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBIB). This all-stock merger will allow Comerica to expand in Texas and use Sterling’s healthy deposit base to expand the newly merged company’s reach to middle market and small businesses.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and NBC Universal (NYSE:GE) are one step further towards tying the knot, which will officially occur within the next couple of weeks. Over a year after the deal was announced, the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice gave the two the go-ahead to merge conditional on some minor business restrictions related to online video programming, including relinquishing some management rights related to Hulu. Why do we care? Now Comcast will create AND deliver TV and movies to our homes. One remaining question is, what will Comcast do with all of its cash? Some analysts suggest stock buybacks or higher dividends rather than more M&A.