M&A: The Markets Love a Buyer

As Laurie Brlas, chief financial officer of Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), prepared to announce a deal to buy a rival mining company this year, she was confident investors would eventually see the wisdom of the plan. She didn't expect them to see it so fast. After Cliffs agreed to purchase Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines for about $5 billion, its shares gained 4.1 percent. "There was a very good chance the immediate next day might have had a different outcome," Brlas says.

The increase challenges the notion on Wall Street that acquirers are punished for spending money. The typical takeover announcement gave the buyer a quick share gain of more than 1.1 percentage points above its benchmark stock index both this year and last, according to a Bloomberg analysis of 3,804 global transactions since 2000. The latest example: Apparel maker VF saw shares climb 10 percent on June 13 after it agreed to acquire Timberland for $1.8 billion.