mergers and acquisitions

Corporate transactions in which companies combine (merger: two companies become one) or one purchases another (acquisition: the buyer absorbs the target). Abbreviated M&A.

• merge/mɜːrdʒ/(v)合并
• acquire/əˈkwaɪər/(v)收购
• acquirer(n)

• M&A activity
• M&A deal
• hostile acquisition
• friendly merger
• M&A advisory
• M&A valuation

1. 1.Disney's $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox consolidated entertainment industry power, adding Marvel, Star Wars (via Lucasfilm), and National Geographic to Disney's empire. (corporate combination)
2. 2.Studies consistently show that 50-70% of mergers fail to create the promised value — cultural clashes, integration difficulties, and overpayment destroy more shareholder value than they create. (M&A failure rate)

• corporate combination (joining companies)
• takeover/ˈteɪkoʊvər/— one company gaining control of another — can be hostile

"merge" from Latin "mergere" (to dip, to plunge) + "acquisition" from Latin "acquirere" (to get in addition) — "ad" (to) + "quaerere" (to seek) — seeking to combine