According to a study by the agency Thomson Financial, the value of merger and acquisition operation across the world in the first nine months of 2005 (1 957 billion dollars) is higher than the total value of the whole of the year 2004. Compared to the same period in 2004, the sum accumulated in the first three quarters of 2005 is up by 48% and is at the highest level since the record was set in 2000. The big investment funds, which are the main actors in mergers and acquisitions, are still...