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What is an acquisition?
An acquisition is when one company buys a majority or all the shares of another company, gaining control. The control threshold is 50% or more of a company’s shares.
Although large-scale acquisitions of well-known companies tend to dominate the news, mergers and acquisitions between small and medium-sized firms are a lot more common.
There are 3 ways to gain control of a company:
- An acquisition, often considered the friendly way
- A takeover, often considered the hostile way
- A merger, which creates a new company by combining the previous two
Mergers and acquisitions happen for various reasons, including to:
- Gain economies of scale
- Provide additional diversification
- Gain greater market share
- Increase corporate synergy
- Reduce costs
- Provide access to new technology or products
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