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Company Research Guide

This Bentley Library research guide was created to provide a starting point for researching companies.

M&A Activity: Top Resources

Top database:

  • FactSet Mergers (aka Mergerstat): FactSet can be accessed in the Trading Room. It is not available remotely.

FactSet Mergers provides a wealth of transaction data, including dates of announcement and closing, deal terms, financial information and ratios on the target and acquiring companies, roles and identities, and financial and legal advisors. The database includes all deals that fit the following criteria: 

  • both the buyer and seller are disclosed
  • there is a minimum 5% stake
  • the transaction involves the sale of a stake in business operations as opposed to stand alone assets

Top print reference:

Additional Resources for M&A Information

  • Search tip: Use the Menu link at the top of the page to select [COMPANY DOSSIER]. Search for your company. On the left side of the company's dossier page, click [Mergers and Acquisitions], then select [Mergers].
  • Search tip: Search for a company then click the [History] under company details. You can build a report on specific topics and specify date range. There are many topics including acquisitions completed and mergers completed.
  • Search tip: Search for a company, then look at "Key Developments" to find mergers and acquisitions information.

NOTE: The Trading Room provides access to the full S&P Capital IQ database, which provides more comprehensive information than what is available in the library's Capital IQ NetAdvatange database subscription. Check the Trading Room's Capital IQ database for additional M&A information.

  • Search tip: Click on [Search] in the top navigation and choose [Deals] from the list. On the Deals page, click on [Filters] and select criteria (e.g. industry, geographic region) to find a list of companies fitting the profile (e.g. Pharmaceuticals and Massachusetts)
  • Search tip: The Mergers & Acquisitions trade publication is available via ProQuest Central and ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest) back to 1993. Use the link above to access, then search within Mergers and Acquisitions for a specific company (e.g. Pfizer).

Trading Room Resources

Visit the Trading Room for access to other information resources such as Morningstar, Bloomberg, Capital IQ, FactSet, and Datastream.