BANKING/FINANCE : Geneva Corp. Again Tops the List of Companies Handling Mergers

For the second year in a row, Geneva Corp. in Irvine initiated and closed more mergers and acquisitions than any company in the nation, according to Corporate Financing Week.

Geneva was involved in 80 corporate purchases last year, compared to 50 mergers and acquisitions it arranged the previous year, the trade publication reported.

Its nearest competitor, Henry Ansbacher Group, completed 45 transactions last year, according to the publication.

The ranking is based on the number of deals that the companies advertise in the Wall Street Journal. The ranking does not reflect the complexity or size of transactions and does not include unadvertised deals.

Geneva specializes in fostering mergers and acquisitions of middle market companies--those with sales of up to $100 million--and the value of all its deals together is less than $1 billion, far below the value of mega-deals like the $24.5-billion takeover of RJR Nabisco Inc. by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Geneva executives have said that last year’s record pace in M&A; activity--including a record pace in Orange County--should continue this year as companies hurry to avoid anticipated increases in interest rates and decreases in tax benefits for mergers, as well as a widely predicted recession.

Altogether, about 35,000 businesses are expected to change hands this year, Geneva has predicted. Up to 5% of those deals will involve divestitures--companies spinning off divisions. Divestitures are expected to be a growing part of the M&A; scene if the economy slows down this year, as Geneva has predicted.