The M&A buy side process is by no means standardized. It’s quite flexible depending on the sell-side’s marketing or both parties’ negotiations.

The M&A sell-side process refers to the process by which a company, the seller, decides to sell all or part of its business to another company, the buyer.

Joint Ventures are when a venture company structure is established by two or more companies to achieve a common goal.

Divestitures involve the disposal process of a company’s business unit or assets through either sale, exchange or closure. The four types of divestitures include sell-offs, spin-offs, split-offs and carve-outs.

Asset Acquisitions means a transaction in which a company acquires one or more assets from a target company based on an asset purchase agreement. This agreement, concluded by mutual negotiation, identifies documents needed to transfer the right of ownership of the asset to the acquirer. These documents can include deeds, the purchase price, assignments and any other terms & conditions.

An Acquisition is a deal transaction in which one company acquires the rights to another company’s assets or the entire business by buying shares.

A merger is an example of a joint business venture. It is a voluntary business restructuring method used to combine two companies to create one brand new entity.