Market Research on Mergers and Acquisitions

Conducting M&A research keeps you abreast of industry trends
By Patricia Flinsch-Rodriguez, Freelance writer Self-Employed Market research on mergers and acquisitions allows managers to determine what opportunities exist to forge alliances and to make sound investment decisions. There are plenty of sources of M&A market research from which to choose, but you want the most recent M&A research to ensure that you can keep up with trends in your industry.

With today’s volatile market conditions, having the most recent M&A market research can pay big dividends to your shareholders. You do not want to be in the position of having to explain to your stockholders that your company missed out on a new business venture because you had inaccurate mergers and acquisitions research. Decide which of the following are the most important to you as you gather your mergers and acquisitions information.

1. Gathering market research on acquisitions to keep up with industry trends

2. Finding strategic alliances to enhance your business

3. Creating mergers and acquisition checklists for competitive intelligence

Target a company for acquisition and gather mergers and acquisitions research

If you're in the market to acquire a company, find out who is having financial difficulties or who is looking to be acquired.
Try:  EDGAR database is a free site that can be used to pull up real time filings of financial statements for publicly traded companies. You can compare this year's balance sheet to last year's balance sheet to see how a company is faring financially. MergerNetwork lists businesses for sale.

Form a strategic alliance via M&A research

Use your market research on mergers and acquisitions to form a strategic alliance. There may be a new opportunity for partnering with another company based upon its recent merger and acquisition that did not exist prior to the merger activity. Don't miss out on a potentially profitable partnership.
Try:  Hoover's offers free basic information on publicly traded and privately held companies. You have the ability to search by over 600 NAICS and SIC-based industries to find a strategic partnership. For more in-depth data, Hoover's offers a fee-based structure. Another good source on forming strategic alliances can be found in Work.com's guide "Generating Strategic Alliances."

Research historical information on mergers and acquisitions

Historical information on mergers and acquisitions is used to track changes in particular company over time and is often used to spot trends in the marketplace.
Try:  LexisNexis's Corporate Affiliations has a nifty feature called MergerTrak. MergerTrak allows the user to look at companies involved in M&A activity within a specific time frame. The merger market research lets the user know if a merger was completed, canceled or still pending regulatory approval. It also allows you to research mergers LexisNexis has on file back to 1976. Mergerstat offers several products. Flashwire Online is one of Mergerstat's products and it allows the user to sign up for M&A market research on select companies. When M&A news breaks on the company, an email is generated to the user with the latest information.

• Most companies selling mergers and acquisitions research will offer you a free trial subscription. Don't miss out on the opportunity to try before you buy.