M&Apedia — The Free M&A Encyclopedia
Welcome to M&Apedia<br>the free encyclopedia of mergers and acquisitions that anyone can learn from — currently 142 reference articles covering deal types, valuation, due diligence, deal structures, financing, takeover defenses, accounting and regulation.
Featured data report · 2026 Edition · CC BY 4.0Home-Services M&A Multiples Report — 2026<br>EBITDA and SDE multiples for eight home-services categories — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, pest control, landscaping, pool service and garage door — across three deal-size bands. The original dataset M&Apedia maintains and updates, free to cite under CC BY 4.0.<br>Read the 2026 report →Selling a business? Start with the playbook →
Featured article<br>Mergers and acquisitions<br>Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are transactions in which the ownership of companies, business units, or their assets is transferred or consolidated. As a discipline, M&A spans corporate strategy, finance, accounting and law; as a process, a typical private-company deal runs six to twelve months across six distinct stages, with the buyer, the seller, and a stack of advisors playing well-defined roles at each step.<br>Read full article →
Did you know…<br>…that most empirical studies find a majority of mergers fail to create value for the acquirer's shareholders, often because expected synergies are overestimated?<br>…that a poison pill lets a target's board dilute a hostile bidder without a shareholder vote?<br>…that in an accretion/dilution analysis, a deal can be "accretive" to earnings per share yet still destroy value?<br>…that the letter of intent is usually non-binding on price but binding on exclusivity and confidentiality?
SponsorFrom the field — featured M&A resource<br>Main Street Wealth is a boutique M&A advisory firm for home-services businesses, and the sponsor of M&Apedia (how this works). Go deeper with their practitioner guides:<br>M&A Knowledge Base<br>Business Valuation Methods<br>Complete M&A Timeline<br>Free Valuation Tool<br>See all M&A resources →
Browse by category<br>Fundamentals<br>Mergers and acquisitions<br>Merger<br>Acquisition<br>Types of mergers<br>Synergy<br>Consolidation<br>Divestiture<br>Spin-off<br>Carve-out<br>Joint venture<br>Strategic alliance<br>Roll-up<br>Platform acquisition<br>Add-on acquisition<br>Reverse merger
Valuation<br>Enterprise value<br>Business valuation<br>Discounted cash flow<br>Comparable company analysis<br>Precedent transaction analysis<br>Accretion/dilution analysis<br>EBITDA<br>EBITDA multiple<br>Seller's discretionary earnings<br>Revenue multiple<br>Sum-of-the-parts valuation<br>Asset-based valuation<br>Control premium<br>Minority discount<br>Discount for lack of marketability<br>Weighted average cost of capital<br>Terminal value<br>Normalization adjustments<br>Quality of earnings
Deal process<br>Due diligence<br>Letter of intent<br>Definitive purchase agreement<br>Investment banking in M&A<br>Tender offer<br>Sell-side M&A process<br>Buy-side M&A process<br>Teaser<br>Confidential Information Memorandum<br>Non-disclosure agreement<br>Data room<br>Indication of interest<br>Management presentation<br>Exclusivity<br>M&A broker vs investment banker<br>No-shop clause<br>Go-shop clause<br>Fairness opinion<br>Deal sourcing<br>Closing checklist<br>Quality of earnings report
Deal structures<br>Deal structure<br>Earnout<br>Asset purchase<br>Stock purchase<br>Statutory merger<br>Forward triangular merger<br>Reverse triangular merger<br>All-cash deal<br>All-stock deal<br>Mixed consideration<br>Escrow<br>Holdback<br>Representations and warranties insurance<br>Material adverse change clause<br>Indemnification<br>Working-capital target<br>Rollover equity
Financing & buyouts<br>Leveraged buyout<br>Management buyout<br>Management buy-in<br>Leveraged recapitalisation<br>Dividend recapitalisation<br>Search fund<br>Entrepreneurship through acquisition<br>Seller financing<br>Mezzanine debt<br>Unitranche<br>SBA acquisition financing
Takeovers & defenses<br>Hostile takeover<br>Poison pill<br>Proxy fight<br>White knight<br>Golden parachute<br>Staggered board<br>Dual-class shares<br>Pac-Man defense<br>Crown-jewel defense<br>Greenmail
Regulation & antitrust<br>Antitrust and merger control<br>Hart-Scott-Rodino Act<br>FTC merger review<br>DOJ Antitrust Division review<br>Second Request<br>EU Merger Regulation<br>CFIUS<br>Market definition<br>Herfindahl-Hirschman Index
Accounting<br>Goodwill<br>Purchase price allocation<br>IFRS 3 — Business Combinations<br>ASC 805 — Business Combinations<br>Intangible assets in M&A<br>Contingent consideration<br>Deferred tax in M&A<br>Bargain purchase<br>Goodwill impairment<br>Measurement-period adjustments
Tax<br>Section 338(h)(10) election<br>F-reorganization<br>Taxable vs tax-free reorganization<br>Section 368 reorganization types<br>Basis step-up<br>NOL preservation (Section 382)<br>QSBS in M&A<br>Tax due diligence
Integration<br>Post-merger integration<br>Day 1 readiness<br>Day 100 plan<br>Synergy realization<br>Integration playbook<br>Integration Management Office<br>Cultural integration<br>Change management<br>IT integration<br>Retention bonuses
Industry & specialty<br>Home-services M&A<br>SaaS M&A<br>Healthcare M&A<br>Family-business M&A<br>Distressed M&A<br>Cross-border M&A<br>Founder-led transitions
Advisors & roles<br>M&A advisor / business broker<br>M&A lawyer<br>M&A accountant<br>Transaction advisor<br>Fairness opinion...