Daniels & Associates, a Denver-based financial advisory firm, closed 29 U.S. telecommunications mergers and acquisitions in 2005 worth close to $700 million, according to a report from financial-services company Thomson Financial.
Daniels led the nation in closing such deals.
Daniels president Brad Busse said this year also is expected to be strong, as more phone companies sell TV and Internet hookups and more cable companies sell phone service.
“There is an opportunity in the consolidation and the convergence of these industries,” Busse said.
With recent “megamergers” between Verizon and MCI and SBC and AT&T, companies such as Denver-based Qwest may be involved in deals, Busse said.
“BellSouth and Qwest are going to have to find their role in that puzzle,” he said.
Qwest chief executive Richard Notebaert has said the company is open to buying others in the telecom field. It made an unsuccessful bid for MCI last year.
Some of the companies that Daniels worked with on transactions were Alltel Communications, Charter Communications and ICG Communications.
In addition to topping the 2005 list for telecom mergers and acquisitions, Daniels ranked No. 1 in the category from 2000 to 2005 with 227 deals worth $30 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
Over the same time period, Goldman Sachs and Co. had transactions with the highest dollar value: $470 billion.
Staff writer Beth Potter can be reached at 303-820-1503 or bpotter@denverpost.com.
Top financial advisers
Top financial advisers to U.S. cable, telecom and broadcast companies in 2005, ranked by number of transactions:
Daniels & Associates 29 deals $699 million
Lehman Brothers 14 deals $78 billion
Goldman Sachs and Co. 11 deals $66 billion
JP Morgan 11 deals $63 billion
Morgan Stanley 11 deals $39 billion
Source: Thomson Financial
