Michael Wolff asks, "what happens when all the big media moguls die?" Wolff speculates that the big consolidation moves that have been accelerating over the last few years will die off with their advocates. "No more complicated deals," vows AOL/TW CEO, Richard Parsons. It's a nice thought, but CEOs of public companies vowing "no more complicated deals" is like Wall Street vowing "no more greed." As long as the possibility existshowever remotethat one's company could potentially be stronger, grab significant market share, or simply make more money by doing an acquisition, the M&A temptation will remain. And let's be realistic. At the Fortune 500 level, every deal is complicated.
Playing mogul murder [NY Magazine]