An acquisition task is an important step along the path toward a successful acquisition or merger. What does this all mean? Read along for the details on how this particular business maneuver works.
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M&As: The Basics
You may have heard of M&As, or mergers and acquisitions before, but what are they? In the business world, sometimes it makes sense for one business to merge with or completely take over another, competing business. Some of the more well-known examples of mergers and acquisitions in history have included those between Disney and Pixar, Citicorp and Travelers Group, and Exxon and Mobil. In the end, the M&A side of the business world is a natural and healthy adjustment to the capitalist markets based on competition.
The 10 Core Steps to M&A Completion (Acquisition Tasks)
Now, when a merger or acquisition takes place, there is a standard, step-by-step process typically taken by one if not both of the involved businesses. Because of the potential scale of business matters needing to be sorted in order for the merger or acquisition to be fulfilled, most businesses use a 10-step process. Each step in this process is referred to as an “acquisition task.”
The 10, typical acquisition tasks/steps are as follows.
1. Strategy Development
In this initial step, the acquirer identifies a business strategy that justifies M&A efforts. An initial set of strategies and goals are also laid out for the coming process.
2. Criteria Determination
In the second acquisition task, the acquirer determines a finalized set of criteria from which they plan to search for and pick their M&A target. Typical criteria here can include locations, specific customer demographics, industry tenure and public image, and profit history, among others.
3. Search for Targets
In the next step, the acquiring business sets out on a search for viable targets using the criteria established in step two.
4. Acquisition Planning
Next, the acquirer reaches out to the targets identified via step three and establishes communications and unveils its intent to merge or acquisition.
5. Valuation Analyses
Further disclosure of financial values between the businesses is transacted in order to work toward negotiations.
6. Negotiations
At this point, negotiations can take place between the two businesses so as to configure reasonable offers and contracts for the takeover.
7. Due Diligence
Next, a sort of final assessment is performed in order to be sure all calculations, valuations, and other aspects of the deal truly are correct and feasible as negotiated upon previously.
8. Final Contracts Executions
Upon the completion of the due diligence step, final contracts are drafted for all involved to review.
9. Final Financing Administration
The final details of financing and payment are worked out here.
10. Closing and Integration
Finally, the businesses sign the contracts to make the deal official and subsequently begin a mutual merging process to become as one, singular business.
Additional Resources
There is a lot to business mergers and acquisitions. For those interested, additional information on the subject can be found by inquiring with the following resources.
The Federal Trade Commission oversees many legal aspects of M&As. The Clayton Act, antitrust laws, and the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act are also overseen here.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, also takes great interest in M&As. This angle of interest and yieldable information is specifically involving finances, insurance, and banking implications with M&As.
The Federal Communications Commission is yet another great source for info regarding some M&As. The commission’s interests here involves communications M&As as well as the effects any M&A otherwise may have on modern communications frameworks already in place.
Mergers and acquisitions are a part of business today but are also highly regulated and organized processes. Acquisition tasks themselves are the step-by-step components for making a merger or acquisition successfully take place. These are the basics of M&As and the place of acquisition tasks therein.
