Guides -- Mergers & Acquisitions
M&A is a general term for deals activity, including mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, and takeovers. It also refers to the department or unit within a corporate finance group that researches M&A opportunities for clients and advises on takeover targets and possible courses of action.
This Guide will point you in the direction of sources useful for researching M&A activity for a variety of applications:
- Locate transaction terms for a specific deal
- Identify a set of deals that fit specific criteria, such as industry, geography, deal status or type, etc.
- Track current activity and overall or sector-specific trends
- Locate league tables
Getting Started
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate
Restructuring, 3rd ed.
BUS REF HD 2746.5 .G38 2002
The Art of M&A: A Merger/Acquisition/Buyout
Guide, 3rd ed.
BUS REF HD 2746.5 .R44 1999
Terminology
Mergers
and Acquisitions Investment Dictionary
Definitions of the most frequently used terminology
Merger
The combing of two or more entities into one, through a purchase
acquisition or pooling of interests. Differs from a consolidation
in that no new entity is created from a merger.
Acquisition
Acquiring control of a corporation, called a target, by stock purchase
or exchange, either hostil or friendly, also called a takeover.
Takeover
Acquiring control of a corporation, called a target by stock exhange
or purchase, either hostile or friendly.
Consolidation
The combing of two or more companies, functional areas, or product
lines, into a single one. Differs from a merger in that a new entity
is created in the consolidation.
Leveraged Buyout (LBO)
Takeover of a company or controlling interest in a company, using
a significant amount of borrowed money, usually 70% or more of the
total purchase price.
Tender Offer
A takeover bid in the form of public invitation to shareholders
to sell their stock, generally at a price above the market price.
For additional definitions, see: The M&A Deskbook, BUS REF HD 2746.5 2001
