America for Sale

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However, even if the price is right and credit is available to buyers, bankers say a potential acquisition must make strategic sense. For example, by combining with U.S. companies, foreign consumer companies often are seeking to make global distribution systems more efficient. "You can get more products through the same distribution channels," says Paul Smith of FTI Consulting (FCN).

"The U.S. is still the biggest and richest market in the world," says Ritch. "If you have global aspirations, you need to be in the U.S."

Buyer Profiles

Where are the all the buyers coming from? Companies in Canada and Europe's developed countries have consistently been the most aggressive buyers of U.S. companies and initiated 69% of deals last year, according to Capital IQ.

Asian companies have stepped up their buying, particularly those from emerging economies such as India and China. Emerging Asian companies launched 23 buyouts so far in 2008 and 62 in 2007, nearly double 2006's total and more than four times 2005's. But emerging Asian companies, which tend to focus more on growing within their own borders, make up a small portion of the buyers.

Foreign buying of U.S. firms could accelerate if worries ease about the U.S.'s credit troubles and weak economy. "They want to look before they leap," Ritch says.

U.S. financial companies, which have had their market values slashed in the last year, are among the industries that could eventually attract interest from abroad, bankers say. But buyers don't want to own these kind of distressed businesses just yet, Harris says, because they aren't sure when those industries will hit bottom.

Prospective buyers are sticking to safer, more secure parts of the U.S. economy. "We see a lot of action [in] high-quality growth companies," Harris says, who notes that energy businesses are favorite buyout targets now.

Political Angles

One thing that's not clear is how much politics will affect the pace of U.S. buyouts. In 2006, DP World, owned by the United Arab Emirates, was blocked in its efforts to buy the management of several U.S. ports, with critics citing national security concerns. But between then and the announcement of InBev's bid for Anheuser, there have been few concerns raised about foreign buyouts of U.S. companies. Although there was an emotional reaction to seeing a major U.S. brand such as Budweiser end up in foreign hands, the Anheuser buyout is expected to be approved.

U.S. shareholders usually lift a glass to acquisition proposals—wherever they come from—because they boost stock prices. Also, employees and their communities sometimes prefer foreign investors, LaRocca says. Overseas buyers often have a longer-term view, which makes them more likely to invest in building the business, he says.

The 2008 Presidential election and a new Administration could change the climate. Until then, like the cheap U.S. dollar, foreign buyouts will be another reminder that U.S. economic growth is falling behind much of the rest of the world.

Here's a look at the largest foreign acquisitions of U.S. firms in the last five years, courtesy of Capital IQ.

Steverman is a reporter for BusinessWeek's Investing channel.