Google (GOOG) just picked up another promising startup in its effort to gain some ground in the online visual advertising market. Teracent, which was formed three years ago, is becoming part of the search engine giant.

Yahoo! (YHOO) currently leads the market in display advertising sales, and Google has been trying push into the space. Last year, this led to its acquisition of online ad service DoubleClick, but that was a first step rather than a total solution to Google's display ad ambitions.

Playboy (PLA) tends to be associated with the magazine and sex. Not the hardcore, nasty kind, of course -- Playboy has always been more than a tad distinguished, staying above board while the adult entertainment industry has chosen to compete in ways that my editor would delete if I even attempted.

With Iconix said to be interested in acquiring Playboy, it needs to think about where it can win with the ailing brand. The smart move may be to ditch the magazine and move away from sex -- it can't compete in either of these markets. Then, it needs to figure out how to make the brand relevant to everyone not in the Boomer generation ... or treat Playboy as an investment with a clock on it.

A major acquisition is coming to light this morning, as Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) has announced that it is acquiring Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI). The deal calls for BRK to dish out $100 per share in cash and stock for the 77.4% of BNI shares that BRK doesn't already own. The deal will cost BRK $44 billion.

The acquisition gives us a glimpse into the mind of the Oracle of Omaha, BRK's CEO Warren Buffett. He feels that the "country's future prosperity depends on it having an efficient and well-maintained rail system." Buffett is betting that railroads are going to do well, which would stem from prosperity in the American economy.

Up until the credit crisis, private equity firms had it made. They had plenty of leverage to play with and could load up their acquisition targets with it. So, they could realize a fantastic return on equity, mitigate their own risks, and show that they were the studs of the Street.

Then, all that went away. Credit markets dried up, and private equity companies lost their acquisition fuel. The numbers aren't as big as they used to be, but it looks like the private equity market is back in action.

Some people join wine-of-the-month clubs. There are plenty of other programs out there, too, where your credit card is hit every month, and your purchase is sent to you directly. If only such programs were available for Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). . . .

The company's CEO, Eric Schmidt, said Wednesday that Google plans to pick up a small company a month as a way to get its acquisition head back in the game. With the worst of the recession behind us, Google believes, this is a great way to get moving.

Some big acquisition news in the oilfield service industry today, as Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) announced that it would be buying BJ Services (NYSE: BJS).

The deal is for cash and stock, and is reportedly valued at $5.5 billion.

According to the details that have been released, BJS stockholders will be getting 0.40035 shares of BHI stock in addition to $2.69 in cash.

Late Monday, VMware (NYSE: VMW) announced that it will acquire SpringSource, a privately held company. The deal carries a total value of $420 million, which will consist of $362 million in cash and equity along with $58 million in unvested stock and options. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of the year.

The acquisition is believed to have been made in order to help VMW expand its management software in order to work with what is known as cloud computing services. Cloud computing is a service over the Internet where users have an external company run the applications.

The mega pharmaceutical merger between Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is one step closer to becoming official today after overwhelming approval by Wyeth shareholders.

The shareholder vote to sell Wyeth to Pfizer was not even close. Around 98% of shareholders voted to approve the sale, which is expected to happen by the end of the year.

After filing for bankruptcy protection a month ago, Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (OTC: EBHIQ) is already seeing the suitors line up. Iconix Brand Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ICON), which owns Rocawear, is showing some interest. Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Group LLC are also looking to make a joint offer for the embattled clothing retailer, and Golden Gate Capital is said to be interested. Hudson Capital Partners LLC may throw its hat in the ring, as well.

Tomorrow's the bidding deadline, and there's an auction lined up for Eddie Bauer's assets on Thursday.

Already in the game, CCMP Capital Advisors ponied up $202 million in a "stalking horse bid," meaning that it will make the acquisition if nobody else beats its offer.

For now, Bauer's is living on borrowed time -- and cash. The company got court permission to take a loan for $100 million to keep the operation moving until an acquisition or auction is complete.

The private equity firms rumored to be eyeing Eddie Bauer have retail and apparel companies in their portfolios, which suggests a possibility that the company could be turned around with the right investment and management team. If not, I wonder if they'll sell the window decorations at the auction . . . always wanted my living room to look like a mall.

We're still in the early stages of this trend, but it's pretty clear that the green energy sector is fast becoming a venture capital darling. Today, for example, five deals were announced in one publication alone (three VC, two acquisitions). The three investments account for $47.4 million in VC investment. And only yesterday, Solazyme picked up another $57 million in its Series C round.

In what remains a capital-constrained market, the cash is still flowing. In the private equity space, investments in clean technologies have remained steady from 2007 to 2008, despite broader economic calamity. Such commitment this early in the game may hint at what the next bubble will be.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) on a trend in mergers and acquisitions that I've been harping on for awhile: With very few exceptions, deal-making is bad news for every shareholder except for the ones getting bought out.

According to the Journal, "The winner's curse is why you're better off selling on eBay than buying; in auctions, winning bidders tend to overpay. The same goes for companies sought by more than one suitor, and the number of auction participants is inversely correlated with the subsequent returns. That is, frothy deals blow more of the buyer's money. "Empire building" is something of a dig at managers. Researchers theorize that managers buy other companies mostly because they want to run bigger operations. They build empires, but at a cost to their stock prices."

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a pro. While some of its deals have failed, the fact remains that the company has built a global powerhouse via dealmaking.

However, last year was uncharacteristic for the aggressive Cisco; that is, the tech giant bought only four companies. Keep in mind that, in a typical year, the company will average a deal a month.

Well, things may change in 2009 (this is according to Barrons' Tech Trader Daily blog). All in all, it looks like Cisco will rev up the deal machine.

OK, so what might Cisco target? A key area is video.

This certainly makes sense. After all, video requires tremendous Net infrastructure. Plus, video is likely to be more attractive to corporate America. Ultimately, a video-meeting could be much more cost-effective than flying to meetings.

Oh, and it looks like the slowing economy may be a good thing. It should mean better valuations -- and more motivated sellers. And, Cisco has the firepower to get attention, with a whopping $27 billion in the bank.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Capital One (NYSE: COF) and Chevy Chase Bank join the long list of bank mergers that we have seen this year, as Capital One announced today that it would be acquiring Chevy Chase Bank for $520 million in cash and stock.

Over the past couple of years, Capital One has acquired several regional banks as it moves to become a major player in the full banking services industry, after getting its start as primarily a credit card company. The move to acquire Chevy Chase Bank, which is headquartered in Bethesda, MD, involves a cash payment of $445 million in and 2.56 million shares of stock.

McLean, Va.-based Capital One is one of the banks that received part of the recent government bailout, reportedly getting $3.56 billion in exchange for preferred stock and warrants to purchase common stock.

Can you remember back ten months ago to January 31, when the Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) board (think Jerry Yang) rejected a $30per share offer from Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT). This buyout offer of $44.6 billion was made by the software giant to combine forces with Yahoo!, against the supposedly next evil empire, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).

That was so long ago when the DJIA was thousands of points higher and the current presidents administration was in full recession denial mode. A lot has happened since then.

Yesterday Yahoo! closed at $12.25 per share, about 60% less than the offer, while MSFT closed at $23.08, down about 20%. This is important because it means that if Yahoo! accepted an all stock offer, shareholders would be way ahead of the game and be collecting dividends.

The credit crunch has made it nearly impossible for private equity firms to pull off multi-billion dollar deals. As a result, a variety of strategic buyers have capitalized on the situation.

But, even this trend may falter. Just look at Waste Management Inc.'s (NYSE: WMI) $6.73 billion buyout bid for rival Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RGS) Well, today Waste Management said it is going to drop the deal.

Why? Of course, it's about the "market conditions."

But, even top companies are having difficulties getting financing. Besides, a big financial commitment could put pressure on Waste Management's credit rating.

Then again, the good news for Waste Management is that the core business continues to be strong. The company forecasts Q3 earning at $0.62 to $0.63 per share. In fact, the recent decline in fuel costs should be a nice boost.

So far in today's trading, the shares of Waste Management are up 6% to $27.29. Republic's shares are up 3.47% to $3.47%.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website