These large issues are well-liked by investors on several counts. Additionally by their size, the issues are liquid. The FT reports that the spread on these bonds was only 140 basis points over Treasuries as compared to 160 basis points for similiarly rated firms. Mergers and Acquistions Not all mergers go as planned. Lycos and USA networks recently called their merger off.
Insider trading is always an interesting topic.
The case deals with the 1995 IBM takeover of Lotus. CNNfn's version of the story is here .