Deal of the Year goes to....Coolbrands
This is probably the slickest business deal I have seen for a while.

A ruling by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission gave CoolBrands 70 per cent of the U.S. sorbet market, 25 per cent of the U.S. premium ice-cream business, 400 freezer trucks, eight large warehouses and part of Nestlé's distribution system in 10 states and the District of Columbia -- all for a price of $13.5-million.

And that is just the beginning:

....Nestlé SA of Switzerland announced its intention to buy part of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc.'s business for $300-million (U.S.). That deal would have given Nestlé 67 per cent of Dreyer's and added such major U.S. brands as Dreamery, Whole Fruit and Godiva to Nestlé's Haagen-Dazs business.

But the FTC blew the whistle on the deal, saying it would reduce competition in the U.S. upscale ice-cream business. The deal would leave only two major players, Nestlé and Unilever PLC with its Ben & Jerry's brand, controlling 98 per cent of the market.

Nestlé's solution was to sell part of its business to CoolBrands, a mid-sized Markham, Ont.-based company that had emerged as a significant player in the United States through the Yogen Fruz, Eskimo Pie, Weight-Watchers and Tropicana brands. These frozen novelties are sold through 5,500 7-11 convenience stores in the United States.

As the article goes on to say, Coolbrands picks up about $200 M. in revenue a year for 13.5 m. Coolbrands already has profit margins of about 10% or so on the $200M in revenue it does a year....Dreyer's, the acquisition is apparently the same. So for less than the total profit from the acquisition after one year, Coolbrands has made a stunning buy.

And with 25% of the American market, 40% average growth rate and a doubling of revenue (not to mention some serious economies of scale) coolbrands is a playa. And if you have to ask, the share price is skyrocketing.

Full disclosure: yes, i'm thinking of purchasing the stock--but i don't own any yet.