High Time for a Merger Wave

How can Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - commentary - Cramer's Take) be the only company that sees a bargain here? How can only JNJ have enough cash to buy a company, Mentor (MNT - commentary - Cramer's Take), that has been shrunk to a level nobody thought possible?

It is incredible how companies that have tons of cash are simply hoarding it and not buying companies that they know in their industry are additive right here.

I look at retail, and I simply don't believe that everyone is going under. You could put together a powerhouse merchant/apparel company here if you are Polo Ralph Lauren (RL - commentary - Cramer's Take) or Coach (COH - commentary - Cramer's Take) or VF Corp. (VFC - commentary - Cramer's Take). You can just go pick as you please!

Or how about Morgan Stanley (MS - commentary - Cramer's Take). If you own that franchise, you have a company that can help baby boomers for years and years. Are all of the insurance companies so underwater on annuities that none can be bought? Did everyone do the wrong trade?

I just don't get it. How can only one company see through this period? If I were Pfizer (PFE - commentary - Cramer's Take) I would be calling Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY - commentary - Cramer's Take). If I were Merck (MRK - commentary - Cramer's Take), I would be calling Celgene (CELG - commentary - Cramer's Take). If I were Devon Energy (DVN - commentary - Cramer's Take), I would be calling Anadarko (APC - commentary - Cramer's Take). If I were General Electric (GE - commentary - Cramer's Take), I would be calling Fluor (FLR - commentary - Cramer's Take), Foster Wheeler (FWLT - commentary - Cramer's Take), URS Corp. (URS - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Shaw (SGR - commentary - Cramer's Take). If I were the Nasdaq (NDAQ - commentary - Cramer's Take), I would be calling NYSE Euronext (NYX - commentary - Cramer's Take). If I were Nabors (NBR - commentary - Cramer's Take), I would be calling Halliburton (HAL - commentary - Cramer's Take). If I were Kellogg (K - commentary - Cramer's Take) I would be calling H.J. Heinz (HNZ - commentary - Cramer's Take). If I were Kimberly-Clark (KMB - commentary - Cramer's Take), I would be calling Clorox (CLX - commentary - Cramer's Take).

There's just too much opportunity here.

After the crash in 1987 there was no merger activity until it was clear that there was no business falloff. We have business falloff. But do we really believe that we will never come out of this?

There is worth here. There's too much fear and not enough companies thinking that it is only a matter of time before market share will matter and that a new administration might block any buy.

Time for companies to get moving. Get buying. Especially the myriad companies with tons of cash that are self-financing and ready to rock.

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Foster Wheeler, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley and VF Corp.

Jim Cramer is a featured commentator for CNBC, which is owned by General Electric; as part of his contract, Cramer holds restricted shares in GE.

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