Top M&A Deals Of 2010

The Wall Street Journal has published a list of what it considers to be the five most important M&A deals of 2010.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and 3Par are the first on the list. Hewlett-Packard acquired 3Par for $2.1 billion after battling with Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) to take ownership of the prized data storage company.

Next up is Cnooc (NYSE: CEO), which acquired Bridas Energy Holdings for $3.1 billion and a stake in Pan American Energy for $7.06 billion. Sinopec (NYSE: SNP) is also listed for two acquisitions: Occidental Petroleum's (NYSE: OXY) Argentina unit for $2.45 billion, and a stake in Repsol's (NYSE: REP) Brazilian offshore-oil unit for $7.1 billion.

Third, the Wall Street Journal lists the AIA Group, which sold two-thirds of the company, raising $20.5 billion. Prudential PLC (NYSE: PUK) had tried to purchase the firm in a $35.5 billion takeover, but American International Group (NYSE: AIG) – which AIA Group was once a part of – turned down the offer.

Of course, the Wall Street Journal also made room for other deals that didn't go through, such as the BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) merger. Valued at around $40 billion, BHP Billiton attempted a hostile takeover of Potash Corp. BHP Billiton backed off after the takeover was opposed by the Government of Saskatchewan, most notably by Premier Brad Wall.

Finally, General Motors' (NYSE: GM) IPO makes the list for its remarkable turnaround.