M&A Project Names
What are Investment Banking M&A Project Names? Until an investment banking M&A transaction is publicly announced, investment bankers should always use an M&A project name in place of the actual company name. It helps maintain the confidentiality of the transaction and prevents any material nonpublic information from being disclosed to members of the public before...
White Knight
What is a White Knight? A white knight is a company or an individual that acquires a target company that is close to being taken over by a black knight. A white knight takeover is the preferred option to a hostile takeover by the black knight, as white knights make a friendly acquisition by generally...
M&A Glossary
M&A Glossary and Terms Welcome to CFI’s M&A Glossary of terms and definitions for mergers & acquisitions transactions. These terms are taken from CFI’s advanced financial modeling course on mergers and acquisitions modeling. General M&A Terms Accretion An improvement in per share metrics post-transaction (after issuing additional shares). Acquirer The firm that is purchasing a...
Cash Rich Split Off
What is a Cash Rich Split Off? A cash rich split off is a merger and acquisition technique where a parent company exchanges the company’s stock for stock in a subsidiary of the company without incurring taxes, provided that the statutory requirements are met. The technique allows companies to dispose of non-core assets and emerge...
Sale and Purchase Agreement
What is a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA)? A Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) is a legally binding contract outlining the agreed-upon conditions of the buyer and seller of a property (e.g., a corporation). It is the main legal document in any sale process. In essence, it sets out the agreed elements of the deal,...
