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Home / Education / Economic / In other words, what precisely is an acquisition? Explanation, Elaboration, and Illustrations

In other words, what precisely is an acquisition? Explanation, Elaboration, and Illustrations

2023-02-08  Sara Scarlett

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What exactly is the correct term for the act of purchasing something?


An acquisition is the process by which one company takes control of another by purchasing the majority or all of the shares of the target company in order to become the dominant shareholder in the target company. This allows the acquiring company to become the controlling shareholder in the target company. When an acquirer purchases more than fifty percent of the stock and other assets of a target company, that acquirer gains the ability to make decisions regarding the newly acquired assets without needing the agreement of the other shareholders in the company. This enables the acquirer to exercise greater control over the newly acquired assets. This is due to the fact that the acquirer is now regarded as the majority stakeholder in the company that was targeted for acquisition. Acquisitions are a common occurrence in the world of business, and they can take place either with the approval of the target firm or in spite of the objections of the target company. Acquisitions can take place either with the approval of the target firm or in spite of the objections of the target company. It is usual practise to include a no-shop clause in the process once approval has been granted.

Because of the enormous volume and significance of these deals, the majority of the news is devoted to reporting on mergers and acquisitions involving well-known and large organisations. This is because the majority of these deals include many companies. This is the case due to the nature of the transaction, which typically involves participation from more than one company. In point of fact, "M&A" transactions, which stand for mergers and acquisitions, take place more frequently between companies of a medium or small scale than they do between organisations of a great size. [Here's a good example:] [Here's a good example:]

KEY TAKEAWAYS

One type of business combination known as a business combination can be further subdivided into a subcategory called an acquisition. An acquisition takes place when one company purchases the majority or all of the shares of another company.
When a corporation purchases more than fifty percent of the shares of a target firm, it will effectively acquire control of that other company and turn it into a subsidiary of itself.
A merger is the process of combining the resources of two or more existing firms in order to create a brand-new company. In contrast, an acquisition is typically completed on amicable terms, whereas a takeover may include contentious talks.
Acquisitions typically require the expertise of an investment bank since they involve the drafting of complicated contracts that have ramifications not only legally but also financially.
Mergers, takeovers, and acquisitions of other companies are all closely related to one another.

Getting Experience and Knowledge in the Field of Acquisitions

The motivation behind business-to-business mergers and acquisitions can come from a very wide range of different areas of focus. They could work toward achieving economies of scale, diversification, a larger share of the market, increased synergy, cost savings, new specialised offers, or any combination of the aforementioned goals, among other things. The following are some other reasons that it's possible that an acquisition took place:

Making Your Way Into the International Market Through the Application of This Strategy

It might be simpler for a company that is interested in expanding its operations to a new nation to enter a foreign market through the acquisition of an existing business that is located in the nation that is the target of the company's expansion efforts. If this is the case, the company should consider exploring the possibility of expanding its operations. The purchased company will already be in possession of its own personnel, a brand name, and possibly other intangible assets. This is because the acquired company is already in existence. This may assist ensure that the purchasing company would be able to enter a new market in the future on a solid foundation in the event that they made the decision to do so in the future. If they made that decision.

As an Approach with the Aim of Promoting Prosperity and Development

It's possible that a corporation wasn't able to accomplish their goal because they ran out of resources, encountered physical or logistical roadblocks, or got into legal trouble. When a company is constrained in this way, it is frequently more practical for the company to purchase another company rather than increase its own activities. This is because it is more difficult for the company to acquire new customers. This is due to the fact that increasing the scope of the company's existing operations would necessitate the allocation of extra resources. In order to explore for new ways to generate profits, a company of this kind can investigate the possibility of acquiring other growing companies, which it would then include into its already existing revenue stream. Because of this technique, the firm is able to discover new potential sources of revenue and profit.

In order to lessen the amount of unused production space while simultaneously cutting down on the amount of rivalry,

When there is an excessive amount of supply or rivalry, businesses could consider making acquisitions in order to cut back on excess capacity, get rid of competitors, and concentrate on the most productive suppliers.

So That We Can Improve Our Technology We Have Decided To

Sometimes it can be more cost-efficient for a company to purchase another company that already has successfully implemented a new technology rather than spending the time and money to develop the new technology on their own. This is because purchasing another company that has already achieved success with the implementation of the new technology is known as an acquisition. This is due to the fact that we purchased another company that possesses a proven track record of accomplishment in the use of the new technology. This is a direct result of the decision made by the corporation to buy an additional company that has already demonstrated a high level of success in the implementation of a new technology.

What Is the Best Course of Action: a Takeover, an Acquisition, or a Merger?

On Wall Street, the terms "acquisition" and "takeover" have different connotations, despite the fact that, technically speaking, they mean practically exactly the same thing. This is due to the fact that Wall Street's culture places a different emphasis on the terms "takeover" and "acquisition."

The word "takeover" gives the impression that the target corporation is fighting or actively opposing the purchase of their business. When a company that is being purchased and another company that is the target of the purchase come together to establish an entirely new entity, this type of transaction is referred to as a "merger." The phrase "acquisition" refers to a transaction that is often friendly, one in which both companies involved work together, as a general rule. However, because each acquisition, takeover, and merger is its own unique case with its own quirks and motivations for undertaking the deal, the precise use of these phrases tends to overlap in practise. This is because each transaction is a unique case with its own idiosyncrasies and reasons for undertaking the deal. This is due to the fact that each case presents its own one-of-a-kind set of facts.

Acquisitions, Most Predominantly of a Friendly Character

To be termed a friendly acquisition, the target firm must agree to the acquisition, and the board of directors of the target company must also agree to the acquisition for the deal to be finalised. In many instances, friendly acquisitions wind up being beneficial not only for the firm doing the purchasing but also for the company that is being purchased. Both companies collaborate on the development of plans with the end goal of increasing the likelihood that the company that is purchasing assets will be successful in doing so. Additionally, in order to evaluate whether or not the assets come with any duties, both organisations investigate the financial accounts as well as any other appraisals that may be available. If both parties can come to an agreement on the conditions of the purchase and satisfy any and all legal requirements, then the transaction will move forward.

It is usual practise to refer to this kind of purchase as a "hostile takeover," as hostile takeovers are typically marked by a lack of cooperation and frequently involve conflict. Unfriendly acquisitions take place when the target company opposes the company being purchased by the acquiring party and does not give its consent to the transaction. Because the target firm does not have the same agreement with the purchasing organisation, hostile acquisitions require the acquiring corporation to aggressively purchase large stakes of the target company in order to gain a controlling position, which ultimately requires the acquisition.

Even if a takeover is not a hostile act in the strictest sense of the term, the fact that it occurs at all is evidence that the enterprises involved are unequal in one or more significant ways.

Mergers produce a new entity, yet they are advantageous to both parties involved.
A merger is a form of acquisition that is undertaken on a cooperative basis and involves the integration of two businesses into a single new legal entity. Mergers are more common than hostile takeovers. Companies that are roughly comparable to one another in terms of their fundamental qualities, such as size, number of clients, and scope of operations, are the ones that, in most cases, merge into a single entity. Companies that are roughly comparable to one another in terms of their fundamental qualities include: The businesses that are merging their activities are confident that the new organisation that is created will be of greater value to all parties concerned, particularly shareholders, than either of the companies could ever hope to be on its own.

 

Evaluation of Potential Candidates for Acquisition as a Process

It is essential for a corporation, before moving forward with an acquisition, to examine if the target firm it is looking to purchase is an acceptable proposal. This evaluation must take place before the company moves forward with the acquisition.

Is there a deal that's even better than this one that you can get right now? When trying to determine the value of a potential target for a merger or acquisition, investors do not use a single index that covers all aspects of the target company because there is no such index. When one company attempts to acquire another but is unsuccessful, it is often because the price that is being demanded for the target company is more than the parameters that have been established for the transaction.
Investigate the whole amount of money that is in question. If the planned acquisition comes with an exceptionally large number of liabilities, this fact alone should serve as a warning indicator that there may be issues in the not-too-distant future.
Undue litigation. Even though legal conflicts are an unavoidable part of the business world, an ideal candidate for acquisition will not be dealing with a level of litigation that is excessive in comparison to what is fair and typical for its size and sector. This is because legal conflicts are a sign of a company that is not operating within its industry norms. This is due to the fact that defending oneself in a legal issue is time-consuming and expensive.
Examine the information very carefully and determine how it all adds up. When an acquirer is doing their homework on a potential acquisition target, it is to their advantage if the target company's financial statements are easy to understand and well-organized. Because of this, the acquirer will be able to finish the process as quickly and effectively as is possible. It is also helpful to have financials that are precise and transparent in order to ensure that there will be no unpleasant surprises once the acquisition has been completed.

The feverish pursuit of mergers and acquisitions that characterised the decade of the 1990s

People will look back on the 1990s as the decade that witnessed the beginning of the internet bubble and the growth of the megadeal in corporate America. This is because both of these phenomena began during this decade. This is something that will stick out in people's minds. In particular, the latter part of the 1990s gave birth to a series of transactions for multiple billions of dollars, the likes of which Wall Street had not faced since the junk bond fests of the roaring 1980s. These transactions changed the face of the financial industry forever. These acquisitions were the most significant ones that Wall Street had witnessed since the junk bond fests. Companies were scurrying to position themselves to capitalise on the "growth now, profitability later" dynamic, as evidenced by Yahoo's acquisition of Broadcast.com in 1999 for the price of $5.7 billion and AtHome Corporation's purchase of Excite for the price of $7.5 billion. These two transactions are just two examples of how companies were scrambling to position themselves. The two of these transactions took place close to one another in time.
When it came to acquisitions of this nature, the first few weeks of the year 2000 marked their apex, as this was the time when they were at their highest point.

An Illustration of How the Acquisition Process Works

AT&T is one of the major players in the industry, along with AOL and Time Warner.

AOL Inc., formerly known as America Online, was the online service that, during its heyday, was hailed as "the enterprise that brought the internet to America." As a direct result of this accolade, AOL Inc. became the most well-known company in the world. AOL was established in 1985, and by the year 2000, it had grown to become the internet service provider that was the most widely used throughout the entirety of the United States.

During this era, the world-famous media conglomerate known as Time Warner, Inc. was considered to be a "old media" company. This was because the corporation had operations in a variety of distinct fields, such as publishing and television, and boasted an impressive income statement, both of which contributed to this result. The fact that the company served a varied range of customers was another factor that contributed to its overall success.

This merger ended up being the most significant in the annals of business history, which led to the destruction of all previous records. AOL, a fledgling corporation at the time, acquired the established industry powerhouse Time Warner in the year 2000 for the staggering sum of $165 billion (TWX). This is a stunning example of the overbearing optimism that AOL exhibited in their presentation.

The newly amalgamated company known as AOL Time Warner had the lofty objective of becoming the most powerful player in the fields of journalism, publishing, music, the entertainment industry, cable television, and the internet. This was to be completed in the shortest amount of time possible. Because of a merger that took place some years ago, AOL is currently the most lucrative technology business in the United States. This achievement was made possible by the combination of two other companies.

Despite this, the phase of collaborative operations only lasted for a little more than ten years before it was eventually phased away. Because to the collapse of the dot-com bubble and the declining market value of AOL, the anticipated benefits of the merger did not materialise as a result of the combination of the two companies. As a direct result of this, AOL and Time Warner have come to an agreement to terminate their partnership:

As a consequence of a process known as a spin-off, the AOL Time Warner corporation was dissolved in the year 2009.

Between the years 2009 and 2016, Time Warner was completely independent in the management of its business, with no outside involvement whatsoever.
AOL was added to Verizon Communications Inc.'s (NYSE: VZ) corporate portfolio through an acquisition in 2015 that cost a total of $4.4 billion in cash and stock to complete.

Following that, in October of 2016, AT&T (NYSE: T) and Time Warner (TWX) announced a deal in which AT&T will buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion, effectively transforming AT&T into a media juggernaut. In November of 2016, the acquisition was successfully completed. AT&T was successful in putting an end to the drawn-out legal battle it had been pursuing in order to finalise its acquisition of Time Warner in June of 2018. This victory allowed AT&T to move forward with the acquisition of Time Warner.


There is not a shred of doubt in anyone's mind that the merger agreement reached between AT&T and Time Warner in 2018 will be every bit as historically significant as the transaction reached between AOL and Time Warner in 2000; however, we do not yet know exactly how it will be historically significant.

These days, 18 years is the equivalent of many lifetimes, particularly in the fields of media, communications, and technology, and a lot more is expected to happen in the future. This is especially true in the context of how quickly things are changing in these areas. This is especially true in the realms of communications, technology, and the media. At this point in time, there are two things that come to mind that appear to be beyond any kind of reasonable doubt:

Following the conclusion of the merger between AT&T and Time Warner, significant aspects of the media industry have already begun to go through transitions as a direct result of the changes brought about by these mergers.
Even in this day and age, the field of mergers and acquisitions is going from strength to strength.

Which of the Many Possible Approaches Should You Choose to Take in Order to Acquire Something?
Depending on the particulars of the circumstance, a corporate combination such as an acquisition or a merger can often be placed into one of the following four categories:

Vertical: the parent company acquires a firm that is somewhere along its supply chain, either upstream (such as a vendor/supplier) or downstream (such as a distributor). Horizontal: the parent company acquires a firm that is outside of its supply chain (such as a distributor). Acquisition of a company that is not part of the supply chain by the parent company is considered horizontal expansion (such as a distributor). It is referred to as horizontal expansion when the parent company makes an acquisition of a business that does not currently form part of the supply chain (a processor or retailer).
A horizontal merger is one in which one company acquires another that operates in the same industrial sector as the acquiring company and at the same point in the supply chain. This particular type of merger is known as a vertical merger.
A conglomerate is formed when a parent company purchases a subsidiary firm that works in a market or industry that is completely different from the parent company's core business, in addition to operating in a sector that is unrelated to the core business.
Congeneric refers to the process by which a parent company acquires a subsidiary company that operates in the same industry or one that is very closely related to it but provides distinctive business lines or products. The term "market expansion" is often referred to as "congeneric."
What, exactly, is it that one ought to aim to achieve by successfully completing an acquisition?
The parent company stands to benefit in a number of ways as a direct result of the acquisition of the subsidiary by the parent firm. To begin, it may make it possible for the company to increase the quantity of goods or services that it provides in order to fulfil the requirements of the growing number of customers. Second, it is conceivable for it to reduce its expenses by purchasing firms that are a part of its supply chain and therefore becoming an owner of those businesses. This would make it possible for it to reduce its costs. It is also a potential for it to purchase businesses that are competitors of its own in order to keep its market share and minimise the amount of competition that is available.

When comparing a merger with an acquisition, what is the single most significant difference that can be made between the two?
The primary distinction lies in the fact that an acquisition comprises the target company being fully integrated into the parent business once it has been taken over by the parent company. This is in contrast to a merger, in which the two businesses remain separate entities. This happens after the parent corporation has taken over the company that was the object of the acquisition. When two separate businesses merge their operations to form a single entity, this results in the formation of an entirely new organisation (e.g., a new company name and identity that combines aspects of both).


2023-02-08  Sara Scarlett