M&A reference materials can be used in many ways. From researching industry trends to finding potential investment opportunities, mergers and acquisitions research is the fastest way to find the information you need. Once you find several good M&A statistics resources, use them to further your business needs.

By making the most of mergers and acquisitions information resources, you can turn your business into a well-informed, profitable organization. Use the information you find to keep up with industry trends, make good investment decisions or prepare your company for an upcoming acquisition or merger. When researching this information, you should:

1. Use merger information to keep up with industry trends and avoid acquisition.

2. Follow recent business acquisitions using newsletters and publications for investment purposes.

3. Research historic merger and acquisitions using merger databases.

Action Steps
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Utilize information on mergers and acquisitions to keep up with the latest industry trends

Keep your business on top of its respective industry and avoid some of the downfalls others experienced by following recent business acquisitions, mergers and trends. Don't let a merger sneak up on your business. Even if your company is successful, stable and profitable, it doesn't hurt to stay informed.

I recommend: Use CNN Money.com to stay informed of the most recent business deals and acquisitions. Sign up to get PE Week Wire and get a weekly private equity newsletter emailed to you free of charge.

Find news about recent mergers and acquisitions

Investors looking for a good payout need to follow mergers and acquisitions with up-to-the minute precision. Knowing when to put your money in and when to take it out can be a lot easier if your daily routine includes reading the latest industry merger and acquisition information.

I recommend: Follow the latest in mergers and acquisitions with an online subscription to Financial Times, or register to receive email updates of the latest Security and Exchange filings from SECFilings.com. You can also order the New York Times Deal Book daily merger and acquisitions update.

Research past merger and acquisitions using acquisition databases

The best investments are those that have been fully researched. Acquiring a business is probably one of the biggest economical risks a company can take, and the proper research must occur to avoid any mistakes. Use M&A information resources to establish industry trends, find company histories and assess a company correctly.

I recommend: Subscribe to Corporate Affiliations to access a database of over 200,000 companies, pending mergers and completed acquisitions. Register with Fact Sheet Merger Stat, and compare over 300,000 different world-wide acquisitions.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Not all M&A reports are equally informative. Don't waste your time or money subscribing to a database or daily update publication until you know the company will provide the imperative acquisition information you need.

Whether you are investing in merger targets or wondering about industry trends, it is critical to stay up-to-date on developing mergers and acquisitions. There are numerous mergers and acquisitions information resources. Depending on your needs, these resources can be free or pricey. For investors looking to capitalize on the premium paid to target firms in a merger, the most important M&A information resources are news wires and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). As soon as a merger is announced, traders must move on the information if they want to capture part of the merger's significant premium. Some recent business acquisitions have paid premiums as high as 68%.

If you are researching mergers and acquisitions for other reasons, then a more complete database is required. Various news sources will provide information on recent mergers and aquisitions of larger firms. Most financial newspapers report on large M&A. Other services provide costly large databases with many M&A statistics. The appropriate M&A information resources depend on your intended use such as:

1. Event-based investing.

2. Long-term trend watching.

3. Buying/selling a firm.

Action Steps
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Get the information on all recent mergers and acquisitions A.S.A.P.

If you are using the information for event-based investing purposes, you need up-to-date information. The faster you get it, the higher your profits can be. Temper this need by the cost of the information.

I recommend: There are several trading-oriented programs available, such as the Bloomberg systems that deliver financial news in real time. For a smaller investor with limited financial resources, there are free services, such as registering at SECFilings.com that sends email alerts when firms file various types of forms with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Another source is MergerInvesting.com which lists pending mergers, along with the target ticker symbols and deal premiums.

Find detailed M&A statistics

The largest deals always make the news. But the smaller deals may not, so to get a complete view of mergers and acquisitions, it is important to get good data. Whether you want to monitor industry consolidation, or forecast trends for investment purposes, accurate data is imperative. Financial advisory fees and completion rate data is also available.

I recommend: To get an overview of M&A statistics, use the M&A Journal, a leading industry periodical. They provide year-end round-ups in the February edition with statistical details. Each edition also lists recent mergers and acquisitions. For those willing to pay a fee, Thomson provides a variety of databases with information on mergers and acquisitions. A demonstration is available to see the level of information that is available.

Utilize mergers and acquisitions information resources to research the value of the firm

For the owner looking to sell the firm, an agent may be required not only to shop the firm, but also to provide an accurate valuation of the firm by looking into recent business acquisitions. Most buyers' needs are similar. Furthermore, both parties in an acquisition may require agents to work out the deal and help retain legal assistance.

I recommend: Accurate valuation is critical when marketing a business or finding one to buy. Sellers may have an emotional connection to the firm, and either party may lack the appropriate skills for business valuation. Hiring a consultant provides the necessary skills to effect a merger. You can try the Brokers Network Group, M&A Source or the Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors for lists of M&A experts. Find extensive company profile information, much of it for free, at Hoover's.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Mergers and acquisitions is an especially popular field among financial economists. There are many academic papers that have very accessible tables of statistical data, and offer evaluations of trading techniques and valuation mechanisms.

Mergers and acquisitions information resources not only provide your company with the latest industry trends, but it can also give you a competitive edge. For instance, if another company acquires a company of relative size in same industry, this will serve as comparative market value for your company. Recent business acquisitions also dictate the competitiveness within an industry. The more merger activity there is, the fewer companies there are to compete against within an industry. However, these mergers can create unfair market advantages that may be harmful to your business.

Recent mergers and aquisitions also present an investment opportunity in some cases. If the M&A statistics demonstrate a majority share of a growing market after the merger, it may signal that your company should purchase the stock of the acquiring company. Conversely, if the merger seems an ill fit, then you may want to divest the business interest that your company owns in a particular company. To stay current on the latest news and trends in the industry, there are a few items to consider, such as:

1. Use industry associations and journals as M&A information resources.

2. Visit Internet blogs for recent business acquisitions information.

3. Register to receive M&A reports RSS feeds.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Utilize journals and associations for information on mergers and acquisitions

M&A industry associations will often provide your company with in-depth information on mergers that don't get published in the M&A reports. The members of these associations have seen every type of merger and acquisition and can offer great insight on the viability of the transaction. The information that the industry journals provide is more technical in nature, but is valuable to your business.

I recommend: Join the Association for Corporate Growth to attain the latest industry news and trends. Subscribe to Mergers & Acquisitions: The Dealmaker’s Journal from NVST for industry M&A reference materials.

Review M&A research related blogs for industry news and trends

Blogs are excellent sources of M&A information, because they can provide a unique insight to mergers that isn't available from traditional information sources. However, because blogs can contain unedited or unregulated information, you should use them as a secondary, rather than a primary, source of M&A news and trends.

I recommend: Evaluate the New York Times and Business Law Professors blogs for M&A resources news and trends. The business law blog provides information about the legal side of mergers and acquisitions.

Sign up for M&A publications RSS feeds

Researching mergers and acquisitions can be a time consuming task. However, you can reduce the time consumption by signing up for M&A related RSS feeds. These feeds will notify you when news or trends regarding mergers and acquisition become available on a specific website. That way, you or your employees don't have to check the websites for information on a regular basis.

I recommend: Use the RSS feed application from Inbox Robot to receive the latest news and trends in the M&A industry. You can also register for the RSS feed at CIO from CXO Media to help your company stay current on the latest mergers.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be careful when trading stocks based on mergers and acquisitions information resources news and trends that you may learn from M&A associations. The reason being is that if you or your company buy or sell stock on information that isn't available to the public, the Securities and Exchange Commission could consider it insider trading.

Completing a merger or an acquisition successfully requires a thorough knowledge of industry information resources and processes. Information resources can help you analyze past mergers and give you the tools to evaluate future mergers or acquisitions.

If you and your company can learn from past mergers and acquisitions, it can increase the likelihood of success. Looking at industry trends and performing due diligence will reduce the likelihood of problems during the merger and acquisition process. One way to understand the process is by knowing key terms. They provide a knowledge base on which you can build a thorough understanding of the topic.

Action Steps
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Industry trend analysis

Industry trend analysis compiles information on past and present mergers in order to determine which companies are ripe for a merger or an acquisition.

I recommend: Review the definition of trend analysis from Business Dictionary. For a list of industry trend analysis resources, check out the information from the Goizueta Business Library.

Due diligence

Due diligence is the notion that when conducting an audit of a potential merger or acquisition, a company will investigate all available information resources to make the best business decision possible.

I recommend: Examine the due diligence definition from Investopedia. The article at Strategy Business gives a detailed explanation of due diligence from a mergers and acquisitions perspective.

M&A Journal

The M&A Journal is the preeminent resource for industry information. The M&A Journal provides tips and tactics, as well as detailed breakdowns of the best information resources within the industry.

I recommend: Visit the M&A Journal website for information about the publication. For legal resource information, you can purchase the M&A lawyer periodical at West Thompson.

Transaction data

Transaction data contains the relevant financial and statistical information regarding merger and acquisition deals.

I recommend: Evaluate the transaction data available at Valuation Resources.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The Securities and Exchange Commission is ultimately the final authority on all mergers and acquisitions. This entity can require companies to restructure the merger or acquisition as it sees fit.

I recommend: Assess merger and acquisition information at the Securities and Exchange Commission. For further information on SEC rules, examine the article from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

Valuation study

Before a merger or acquisition can take place, the worth of the prospect's assets must be determined. Evaluating a sizable company requires considerable accounting skill and some knowledge of a company's stock in trade. The result of this research is a valuation study.

I recommend: Hempstead & Co. is a firm that provides business valuation services.