Idled Dealmakers Pile Into New Niche With Virus Freezing Mergers

Idled Dealmakers Pile Into New Niche With Virus Freezing Mergers

With the mergers business in a deep freeze after a decade-long boom, the matchmakers who broker corporate marriages are piling into a new line of work.. Bankers are coping with the sudden end of a golden age of mergers that accompanied the longest bull run for stocks in history.. Some of the biggest transactions of all time came during these boom years, including Anheuser-Busch InBev NV 's purchase of SABMiller Plc and AT&T Inc. 's takeover of Time Warner Inc. , both valued at more than $100 billion including debt.. Many M&A bankers at Wall Street titans such as Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley have also shifted the bulk of their energies to advising key corporate clients on financing and managing their banks' exposure to fragile companies, people with knowledge of the matter said.. Rothschild is assisting the U.K. government on measures to bolster carriers such as Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. , people with knowledge of the matter have said.. Rival rig operator Seadrill Ltd. rehired longtime adviser Houlihan Lokey Inc. for fresh negotiations with lenders, according to people familiar