Deal of the Week

Canadian Pacific Railway's chief said this week ``the deck was stacked against'' his pursuit of Norfolk Southern. Shouldn't that have been obvious months ago? Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Brooke Sutherland and Deal of the Week host Alex Sherman examine the failed railroad merger. Plus, TSG Consumer Partners' Hadley Mullin discusses her career highlights, including a ``scary'' deal involving Yard House restaurants, and why she's perplexed by the lack of women in private equity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Airline takeovers don't have a good track record. That didn't stop Alaska Air from agreeing this week to pony up in a big way for Virgin America. Yet the combined company will still have to deal with many of the industry woes that have dogged previous mergers, including high fixed costs, strong unions and passengers wary of paying too much for tickets. Even Virgin founder Richard Branson is concerned Virgin America's customer service will suffer. Bloomberg M&A reporter Matt Monks joins Deal of the Week host Alex Sherman to discuss why Alaska nevertheless was willing to bet big on Virgin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott Rostan used to be a mergers & acquisitions banker for Merrill Lynch. Then he was a high school teacher. He eventually found a happy medium training bankers and business school students how to do their jobs. He founded Training The Street in 1999, signing up bulge-bracket banks and universities as clients and developing a 35-person global team to teach techniques on valuation, accounting and financial analysis. He explains some of his methods and shares his own experiences in boardrooms, including a tense bidding war between Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Corp. for Conrail Inc., and how that battle parallels today's hostile railroad consolidation talks. Plus, Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond stops by to update host Alex Sherman (back from paternity leave) on Virgin America's talks to be acquired by JetBlue Airways and Alaska Air.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once again, big Asian companies are eyeing trophy U.S. companies. And once again, they're paying top dollar at what may prove the market's peak. But this time, it's China, not Japan, and the prize isn't just real estate. Join Bloomberg's Ed Hammond and Tara Lachapelle to find out why Chinese insurer Anbang has joined the ranks of ``homewreckers'' on U.S. M&A deals with its battle to wrest Starwood Hotels from Marriott International. Also, hear about M&A from inside the C-suite from Priceline's Susanne Greenfield, in conversation with Jeff McCracken.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Burger King. Pfizer. Name a major M&A deal in the past three decades and chances are Eileen Nugent played a part. Join us as the co-head of M&A at Skadden Arps explains what it was like to be a woman in the male-dominated world of the 1980s and how gender inequality is finally starting to change. Guest host Jeffrey McCracken also chats with Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond on China's growing multi-billion-dollar interest in hotel chains across the U.S.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Burnett, Vice Chairman and Director of Research at Wall Street Access joins the show this week. But first, guest co-host Jeffrey McCracken kicks things off with Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond discussing the potential deal between BASF and DuPont.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cate Ambrose, president of the Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, is bullish on private investments in nations including Mexico and Brazil. Still, she's seeing the largest global private equity firms hold on to investments for longer, aiming to boost returns as Latin American currencies slide against the dollar. Deal of the Week host Alex Sherman also chats with Bloomberg M&A reporter Matt Monks, who broke the news that Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group are both interested in challenging Deutsche Boerse's offer to buy London Stock Exchange Group, a move that may prompt a bidding war for the U.K. exchange.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eric Zinterhofer, chairman of Charter Communications Inc. and co-founder of Searchlight Capital Partners, says Charter management was caught by surprise by Comcast Corp.'s behind-the-scenes attempt to usurp its $80 billion deal for Time Warner Cable. ``Blindsided is probably an understatement,'' he says. Zinterhofer reflects on Charter's journey from bankruptcy to potential cable giant and discusses why he left Apollo Management for Searchlight with Bloomberg's Alex Sherman and Kiel Porter. Plus, Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond chats about the likelihood of a merger between Honeywell International and United Technologies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Female Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that invests seed money in companies founded by women. But the firm's motive isn't to promote women's rights -- it's to make money. Partner Sutian Dong explains why the venture capital community undervalues companies founded by women and discusses some of her fund's most interesting and potentially lucrative investments. Plus, Google buying insurance giant American International Group? It sounds crazy. Maybe it is, Bloomberg reporter Sonali Basak tells Alex Sherman, but that's not stopping Citigroup analysts from proposing what would be a $100 billion deal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He's worked side-by-side with George Steinbrenner and befriended Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. He sold the Charlotte Bobcats to Michael Jordan and helped transform the Golden State Warriors by pushing to sell the team to Joe Lacob instead of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Sal Galatioto is the man behind many of the biggest ownership switches in professional athletics, working as an M&A adviser for almost 20 years. He explains why he can identify a top-notch owner in just a few minutes and shares stories about working with some of the biggest names -- and egos -- in sports. Plus, Bloomberg reporter Brian Womack and host Alex Sherman discuss Bloomberg's latest scoop on Verizon's interest in buying Yahoo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.