Mergers and acquisitions

Corporate finance
Financial management
Asset and liability management Business plan Clawback Corporate action Enterprise risk management Financial plan Investment management Managerial finance Mergers and acquisitions Strategic financial management Wealth management
Accounting
Balance sheet analysis Enterprise value Financial accounting analysis analyst engineering Fundamental analysis Management accounting Structured finance Valuation using discounted cash flows
Investment
Angel investor Asset Bond (finance) Capital appreciation Capital structure Cash conversion cycle Cost of capital Eco-investing Economic bubble Economic value added Equity (finance) Exchange traded fund Financial analysis Financial risk Financial system Growth investing Growth stock Investment performance Investor profile Market risk Market trend Option Over-the-counter Pension fund Return on capital Shares Speculation Super angel Sustainable finance Systematic risk Systemic risk Too big to fail Too connected to fail Toxic asset Volatility (finance) Watered stock
Related topics
Factoring (finance) Financial analyst Financial asset Hedge Investor profile Position of trust Statistical finance Stress test (financial) Structured product Supply chain finance
v t e

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. This could happen through direct absorption, a merger, a tender offer or a hostile takeover.^[1] As an aspect of strategic management, M&A can allow enterprises to grow or downsize, and change the nature of their business or competitive position.

Technically, a merger is the legal consolidation of two business entities into one, whereas an acquisition occurs when one entity takes ownership of another entity's share capital, equity interests or assets. From a legal and financial point of view, both mergers and acquisitions generally result in the consolidation of assets and liabilities under one entity, and the distinction between the two is not always clear.

Most countries require mergers and acquisitions to comply with antitrust or competition law. In the United States, for example, the Clayton Act outlaws any merger or acquisition that may "substantially lessen competition" or "tend to create a monopoly", and the Hart–Scott–Rodino Act requires notifying the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission about any merger or acquisition over a certain size.