Tuesday 23 August 2011

M&A Acronyms

The field of M&A is full of acronyms, appropriate I suppose as the descriptor of the field is one.  In actual fact mergers are very rare (in order for a transaction to be recognized as a merger under GAAP it has to meet numerous accounting criteria) and the activity really consists of acquisitions and divestitures or A&D.  In any case, I thought I would start by clarifying some acronyms used throughout the process.  At this point, I will define the acronyms without getting into detailed explanations.  I will provide explanations in later posts.
One of the first documents used in the M&A process is a no-names summary description of the opportunity typically called a teaser.  If the teaser is of interest then parties will sign an NDA or CA (Non-Disclosure Agreement or Confidentiality Agreement) to receive more detailed information about the company.  The comprehensive information document is called a CIM or just IM (Confidential Information Memorandum or Information Memorandum).
In order to assess whether parties reviewing the CIM are worthy of moving forward they are typically be asked to issue a non-binding EOI or IOI (Expression of Interest or Indication of Interest) which will identify a valuation range, rationale and transaction structure parameters.
If the EOI is acceptable, potential purchasers are furnished with still more information typically in the form of monthly income statements, revenue and customer analyses and whatever else is important to the potential purchaser under the circumstances.  At this stage the potential purchaser and seller will meet in person and a Data Room is set up that will contain the actual contracts to allow the purchaser to verify that everything that has been represented to date is actually true (these days more and more data rooms are virtual data rooms in cyberspace). 
Subsequent to this an LOI (Letter of Intent) is sought and upon signing the LOI, a period of exclusive due diligence is awarded to the single final successful party.  Once the potential purchaser is sufficiently comfortable, work will begin on the PSA (Purchase and Sale Agreement) and signature on this document and its many companions will consist of the closing.  The PSA will define the deal structure which may contain a hold-back and/or a VTB (Vendor Take Back).  A hold-back is typically for a period of less than one year and contingent on receivables being paid, customers being retained or any indemnity claims the purchaser may have a right to as defined in the PSA.  A VTB or vendor note is a purchase loan from the seller to the buyer.  This is typically subordinated to a senior lender (i.e. a bank) and is usually of a term longer than one year.
On the financial/valuation side there are acronyms such as EBT, EBIT and EBITDA (Earnings Before Tax, Earnings Before Interest and Tax, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes and Depreciation and Amortization (non-cash items), EV and TEV (Enterprise Value and Total Enterprise Value), FYE (Fiscal Year End), LTM (Last Twelve Months), and YOY (Year Over Year).

Derek van der Plaat, CFA has worked in private market M&A for more than 20 years and is a Managing Director with Veracap Corporate Finance in Toronto.

1 comment:

  1. One of the first actions in the merging and acquisition ("M&A") procedure after performing a privacy contract ("Confi") or non-disclosure contract ("NDA") is the issuance of a non executed correspondence of purpose. A correspondence of purpose, generally known as the "LOI", is a lawful papers that is offered to demonstrate attention in advancing with a deal, such as to purchase, partnership or merging.

    Mergers and Acquisitions

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