In 1999 he broke the story that Exxon was merging with Mobil, then the biggest industrial merger.

It was then the biggest industrial merger in history.

During the rash of American industrial mergers that began in 1984, he scorned investment bankers and analysts for emphasizing short-term gains rather than long-range growth.

Much more attention needs to be paid to industrial mergers and restructuring.

It is calling for industrial mergers that would not be approved in the civil sector.

Indeed, nearly every major industrial merger or rescue was led by the elite of Kogin, a nickname that is a contraction of the bank's proper name.

And that makes last week's stunning $39 billion deal, the biggest industrial merger ever, an intriguing study of just how "free" free markets really are.

The biggest ever industrial merger was between the motor companies Daimler-Benz and Chrysler.

It's the largest industrial merger to date, worth $35 billion to $40 billion.

And so of many other important industrial and transportation mergers.