Deals & Transactions Archives

Deals and Transactions Guides

CFI has created a vast library of guides, templates and resources to help you learn about deals and transactions in corporate finance. These articles are designed as self-study, so you can read and learn at your own pace. In the guides, you’ll see examples and step-by-step instruction on the most important and common types of transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, capital raising, takeover defense, management buyouts, leveraged buyouts and more.

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Learn How Deals are Structured

Below is a list of CFI’s most popular guides to learn about the structuring of transactions and deals in corporate finance. These resources are useful for anyone considering a career in investment banking, corporate development, business brokerage, or any other job the deals with buy and selling companies. Whether you need to learn about non-disclosure agreements, share purchase agreements, or how to close an asset purchase, these guides will be a big help!

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Private Equity Transaction Timeline

Private Equity Transaction Timeline There are various steps involved in a Private Equity Transaction Timeline. The diagram below shows the different steps in a M&A transaction from the private equity side, along with a tentative timeline. Steps in a Private Equity Transaction Timeline 1. Teaser Sent by Bankers One of the first steps of buy-side M&A...

Definitive Purchase Agreement

What is a Definitive Purchase Agreement? A Definitive Purchase Agreement (DPA) is a legal document that records the terms and conditions between two companies that enter into an agreement for a merger, acquisition, divestiture, joint venture, or some form of strategic alliance. It is a mutually binding contract between the buyer and seller and includes...

Asset Deal

What is an Asset Deal? An asset deal occurs when a buyer is interested in purchasing the operating assets of a business instead of stock shares. It is a type of M&A transaction. In these cases, the buyer completes the transaction by providing the selling company consideration for some or all of the assets they...

Hostile Takeover

What is a Hostile Takeover? A hostile takeover, in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), is the acquisition of a target company by another company (referred to as the acquirer) by going directly to the target company’s shareholders, either by making a tender offer or through a proxy vote. The difference between a hostile and a friendly...

Poison Pill

What is a Poison Pill? A shareholder rights plan, more commonly known as a poison pill, is a company’s defense against a potentially hostile, or unsolicited, takeover attempt. The general idea of a poison pill is to dissuade any outside takeover attempt by either making the company less desirable or by typically diluting an acquirer’s...

Deals & Transactions

M&A Process

Asset Purchase vs Stock Purchase

Investment Teaser