Accelerated Share Repurchase
A structured buyback transaction in which a company immediately repurchases a large block of shares from an investment bank.
Acquisition
The purchase of one company by another, with the buyer gaining control.
Asset Sale
A transaction in which a company sells specific assets or divisions rather than the entire entity.
Carve-Out
A partial IPO in which a parent company sells a minority stake in a subsidiary to public investors while retaining majority ownership.
Cash Dividend
A direct payment of cash from a company's earnings to shareholders, typically distributed on a regular quarterly schedule.
Cash Merger
An acquisition in which shareholders of the target company receive a fixed cash payment per share as consideration.
Change of Control
The acquisition of a majority ownership stake in a company by a new controlling party, triggering contractual and legal provisions.
Corporate Restructuring
A broad set of strategic actions that reorganize a company's operations, finances, or ownership to improve long-term value.
Cross-Border Merger
A merger combining two companies from different countries, subject to multiple regulatory, tax, and currency considerations.
Debt-for-Equity Swap
A transaction in which creditors exchange outstanding debt claims for equity shares in the debtor company.
Demerger
A corporate split in which a company divides into two or more independent companies, distributing shares to existing shareholders.
Direct Listing
A method of going public in which a company lists existing shares on a stock exchange without issuing new shares or hiring underwriters.
Equity Offering
The issuance and sale of shares in a company to investors, used to raise capital or provide liquidity for existing shareholders.
Exchange Offer
A corporate transaction in which an issuer proposes to swap one class of outstanding securities for a different class or new series.
Going Private
The process of converting a publicly traded company into a private company, removing its shares from a stock exchange.
Hostile Takeover
An acquisition attempt that proceeds without the approval or against the wishes of the target company's board of directors.
IPO
The first time a private company sells shares to the general public on a stock exchange.
LBO
The acquisition of a company using significant borrowed funds.
MBO
An acquisition in which a company's management team purchases the business.
Merger Agreement
The definitive legal contract between an acquirer and a target company specifying the full terms and conditions of a proposed merger.
Merger Arbitrage
An investment strategy that profits from the price spread between a target stock's trading price and the announced acquisition price.
Merger of Equals
A combination of two similarly sized companies structured as a partnership of peers with shared governance and leadership.
Merger
The combination of two companies into a single new entity.
Open Market Repurchase
A share buyback program in which a company purchases its own stock on the open market at prevailing prices over time.
Poison Pill
A shareholder rights plan that allows existing shareholders to buy new shares at a discount, diluting a hostile acquirer's stake.
Recapitalization
A restructuring of a company's capital mix by altering the balance of debt and equity on its balance sheet.
Reverse Merger
A transaction in which a private company goes public by merging into an existing publicly traded shell company.
Reverse Split
A corporate action that consolidates shares, reducing their count while proportionally increasing the price per share.
Reverse Takeover
A transaction in which a private company gains effective control of a publicly listed entity, achieving a public listing in the process.
Rights Issue
An offer allowing existing shareholders to buy new shares at a discount before they are offered publicly.
Scrip Dividend
A dividend program that gives shareholders the choice to receive new shares instead of their cash dividend entitlement.
Secondary Offering
The sale of new or existing shares by a public company after its IPO.
Share Buyback
A company's repurchase of its own outstanding shares, reducing shares in circulation and often increasing earnings per share.
SPAC
A shell company that raises capital through an IPO with the sole purpose of merging with or acquiring a private company to take it public.
Special Dividend
A one-time, non-recurring cash distribution to shareholders separate from and in addition to any regular dividend.
Spin-Off
A new independent company created by separating a division from a parent company.
Squeeze-Out
A mechanism allowing a majority shareholder above a statutory threshold to compulsorily acquire remaining minority shares.
Stock Dividend
A distribution of additional shares to existing shareholders instead of a cash payment, proportional to current holdings.
Stock-for-Stock Merger
An acquisition in which target shareholders receive shares of the acquiring company at a fixed exchange ratio instead of cash.
Stock Split
Dividing each existing share into several new ones. The number of shares goes up and the price per share goes down, while the company’s value stays the same.
Strategic Acquisition
A company purchase driven primarily by long-term competitive advantages rather than short-term financial return.
Takeover Bid
A formal public offer by an acquirer to purchase shares of a target company at a specified price, often at a premium.
Takeover Premium
The percentage above a target company's pre-announcement share price paid by an acquirer to gain control.
Tender Offer
A public offer to purchase some or all of shareholders' shares at a specified price, usually above the current market price.
Voluntary Delisting
A company's decision to withdraw its shares from a stock exchange at management's initiative rather than due to exchange sanctions.
White Knight
A friendly acquirer that rescues a target company from a hostile takeover by offering better terms or a preferred deal structure.