Which companies have made the smartest M&A moves during the past year? VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW)? Adtran Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTN)? NEC Corp. (Tokyo: 6701)/Netcracker Technology Corp. ? Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)? Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)?

OK, maybe not AT&T... (See AT&T Drops Bid to Acquire T-Mobile.)

But all of these other companies could figure in the shortlist for Best Deal Maker in the 2012 Leading Lights Awards as they've opened their wallets to make strategic acquisitions during the past year. (See the story links farther down the page in case you've forgotten what they bought and Leading Lights 2012 Entry Forms for details of the awards.)

The Best Deal Maker award -- which will be presented during the Leading Lights ceremony (OK, OK ... it's a party) held at the Manhattan Penthouse in New York City on Wednesday, Nov. 7 -- is not limited only to those that have been merging and acquiring, though. Any company that has "consistently demonstrated good timing, judgment, and execution" in high-profile partnerships, joint ventures, and other multi-company financial arrangements can also win the award.

Maybe Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) could make the shortlist for their patent partnership? Or Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) for its audacious swoop on the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum held by four cable companies?

Last year Dimension Data picked up the award as not only was it acquired by NTT Communications Corp. (NYSE: NTT), but also because it acquired OpSource to boost its cloud services strategy. (See Dimension Data Buys OpSource, DiData Deal Spells Bad News for SIs and NTT Splashes $3.2B on DiData.)

(You can see the full list of the 2011 Leading Lights Awards winners right here. )

So, does your company qualify for the Best Deal Maker category? If so, you have less than two weeks to submit an entry (a very easy process). Get all the details you need, including links to the entry forms, right here.

Here's a reminder of some of the high-profile deals struck in recent months:

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading