Course Number: BU641 Subject: Business Welcome to Laurier Library’s M&A Pitch Book Project research guide for BU 641: Mergers & Acquisitions Strategy. This guide provides information sources to help you conduct research on your chosen acquisition transaction. You may also want to visit the Business subject guide for additional resources that will help you complete your research. Additionally, you can find links to helpful video tutorials to the right under Key links.Use the links below to navigate to the different sections of this guide.Industry AnalysisCompany ProfilesCompany StrategyPerformance AnalysisM&A ValuationArticle DatabasesAnalyst ReportsAdditional ResourcesCiting Your SourcesIndustry AnalysisThe following databases are useful when retrieving industry-related information, such as industry reports, five-forces analysis, regulatory environment, market size and share, competitive landscape, ratios and financial performance, statistics, and news.IBISWorld (opens in new tab)Contains Canadian and US Industry Reports, iExpert Summaries, and Business Environment Profiles. Industry market research reports contain such information as trends, statistics & analysis on market size, market share of major companies, industry growth rates, and key external forces affecting supply and demand.Passport (opens in new tab)A database provided by Euromonitor International, offering insight into industries and markets (by country and globally). Select an industry from one of the industry drop-down menus or enter a keyword in the top-right search box.Marketline Advantage (opens in new tab)Contains regional and global industry reports and analysis including Porter's Five Forces Analysis. Enter in a keyword then select ‘Industries’ from the drop-down menu. Learn how to use Marketline to find Five Forces Analysis and other industry information from this video tutorial.BMI Research via ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry (opens in new tab)Provides quarterly country and global industry analysis, data, and forecasts. To access: select ‘Browse’ from the top > select ‘Business Monitor International’ under Industry and Market Research > expand an industry to find country-specific reports, or browse by location or title.S&P NetAdvantage (opens in new tab)Standard and Poor’s global industry surveys. Select the ‘Industries’ tab.First Research via ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry (opens in new tab)Provides quarterly industry analysis (global with an emphasis on the U.S.). To access: select ‘Browse’ from the top > select ‘First Research’ under Industry and Market Research > select an industry to access quarterly reports.Factiva (opens in new tab)Contains global industry snapshots. Select the ‘Companies/Markets’ tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Industry’.Thomson One (opens in new tab)*Can only be used with Internet Explorer. Provides global industry research and forecasts. Reports are from key brokerage firms and analysts. To search for industry reports, go to the ‘Screening & Analysis’ tab > ‘Research’ > select the ‘Industry’ indicator under 'Report Type' > you may search with keywords, NAIC, or SIC codes > *adjust the date range in order to receive more reports. Learn how to use Thomson One to find industry analyst reports from this video tutorial.Company ProfilesThe following databases are useful when retrieving information on companies such as company profiles, SWOT Analyses, company financials, competitors, and market share.Marketline Advantage (opens in new tab)Provides company profiles, SWOT analyses, financial deals, and news for publicly-traded companies worldwide. Company SWOT analyses can be found within the company profile reports.LexisNexis Academic (opens in new tab)Provides company profiles for public and private companies worldwide, including business descriptions, financial statements, financial ratios, M&A activity, legal cases, news, and more. Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right).*Also supports the option of creating a customized company list (for ex. a list of companies operating within a specific industry). Watch the following video tutorial to learn how to create a company list in LexisNexis Academic: Build a Company List.Passport (opens in new tab)Contains global company profiles and SWOT analyses. Search for a company in the top-right search box.Mergent Online (opens in new tab)Provides company profiles for public companies worldwide, including business descriptions, history, public filings, financial statements, financial ratios, news, and more. Watch the video tutorial: Company financials: Mergent Online.Factiva (opens in new tab)Coverage includes profiles for global public companies, including business descriptions, financial statements, financial ratios, stock price activity, and more. Select the ‘Companies/Markets’ tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Company’.Company StrategyThe following resources are useful when researching corporate strategy.Annual Reports (10-K Filings)Annual reports can be a rich source of information in order to learn more about a company’s strategy. Information on company strategy can normally be found in the Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) section of an Annual Report.Sedar (opens in new tab)Find annual reports of Canadian publicly-traded companies. Watch the video tutorial: Finding Canadian Company Annual Reports.Edgar (opens in new tab)Find annual reports of U.S. publicly-traded companies.Mergent Online (opens in new tab)Coverage includes company filings for over 10,000 publicly-traded companies worldwide. Enter the company name or ticker symbol in the search box > click ‘Go’ > once on the company profile page, select the ‘Reports’ tab.Earnings Call / Conference Call TranscriptsOften held after the release of a public company’s annual or quarterly results, earnings call transcripts are a valuable business research resource that can offer information on a company’s strategic direction.LexisNexis Academic (opens in new tab)To access earnings transcripts > select ‘Search by Subject or Topic’ > ‘Broadcast Transcripts’ > type in the company name and click ‘Search’ > under ‘Publication Name’ (left toolbar) select ‘Fair Disclosure’ > you can also use keywords in the ‘Search within results’ (top-right) search bar to help you locate relevant transcripts.Seeking Alpha Transcript Center (opens in new tab)Freely available on the web, the site can be searched by company (search bar on the right) and individual transcripts can further be searched with keywords (i.e. search for the word ‘strategy’ within a company’s earnings transcript).ArticlesSee the 'Article Databases' section of this guide.Analyst ReportsSee the 'Analyst Reports' section of this guide.Performance AnalysisThe following resources are useful when retrieving key ratios and other performance indicators for companies and industries.Thomson One (opens in new tab)*Can only be used with Internet Explorer. Contains financial information on public companies worldwide, including summary financial data, key ratios, actual and forward estimates, stock pricing data, analyst ratings, analyst reports, M&A data and more. Enter company name or stock ticker symbol in the search box then click the 'Go' button.Factiva (opens in new tab)Factiva provides key ratios for companies and a ratio comparison report that allows benchmarking a company against industry, sector, and S&P 500 averages. Select the ‘Companies/Markets’ tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Company’ > for key ratios see the drop-down menu under ‘Financial Results’ > for the ratio comparison report see the drop-down menu under ‘Reports’.LexisNexis Academic (opens in new tab)Contains company ratios. Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right) > on the company profile page select ‘Overview’ under Financials > scroll down to view ratio analysis figures.Mergent Online (opens in new tab)Provides company ratio analysis. Search for a company > select ‘Company Financials > ‘Analysis’ > 'Ratio Analysis' (data can be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet).Damodaran Online (opens in new tab)A site created by Aswath Damodaran, a Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University. Select the ‘Data’ tab to access ratios for companies and industries and a wealth of other data.Google Finance (opens in new tab)Find company valuation and profitability ratios with industry and sector comparisons. Search for a company > scroll down and select ‘More from Reuters’ (under ‘Description’) > select the ‘Financials’ tab.M&A ValuationThe following resources are useful for researching M&A activity such as retrieving M&A information and data for companies and industries.Thomson One (opens in new tab)*Can only be used with Internet Explorer. Supports the retrieval of M&A data and information by company or industry. Data can also be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet.By company > enter the company name or ticker symbol in the top-left search bar and click ‘Go’ > once on the company’s profile page scroll down to see the ‘Latest 5 Deals’ box > see the ‘M&A’ tab or select ‘More Deals’ > select the tear sheet symbol for further deal details.By industry > select the ‘Market Views’ tab > ‘Deal Activity’ > ‘M&A’ > ‘Recent Deals’ > take note of the ‘Announced’ and ‘Completed’ tabs under M&A Recent Deals and choose between either > select from date, target status, industry, region and click ‘Go’ > to view the details of an M&A deal select the tear sheet symbol > once in the tear sheet, see the tabs ‘Deal Details’, ‘Financials’, ‘Research’ for more information.LexisNexis Academic (opens in new tab)Supports the retrieval of M&A data and information by company or industry.By company > enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right) and click ‘Go’ > select the correct company from the list > once in the company’s profile page, select ‘Mergers & Acquisitions’ from the left menu > then select ‘Mergers’ > select a deal for more information.By industry > select ‘Search by Subject or Topic’ > select ‘Dossier (Company, Executive, Industry)’ > select the ‘Industry’ tab > type in an industry name or SIC code > choose the correct industry from the list > once in the industry's profile page see ‘Mergers’ in the left column for a list of the top mergers by price in that industry > select an announce date for financial data and other information. *Note: LexisNexis lists only the top mergers by price in a particular industry, therefore some of the deals are older.Marketline Advantage (opens in new tab)Supports the retrieval of M&A data and information by company or industry.By company > type in the name of a company and then select ‘Financial Deals’ from the drop-down menu > click ‘Search’.By industry > hover your cursor over ‘Databases’ (under ‘Browse by’) > select ‘Financial Deals Tracker’ > use the various search options (blue toolbar) to retrieve M&A information for industries.Analyst ReportsSee the 'Analyst Reports' section of this guide.Article DatabasesArticles (news, trade, or scholarly) are a great resource when conducting business research such as learning more about a company or industry. Further, article databases bring not only online articles together, but other resources such as company profiles, SWOT analyses, industry reports, and other research reports into one search engine.Use keywords in the following article databases to find relevant articles and other resources. For example, if you are searching for information on the strategic objectives of a particular company, search for the company’s name with keywords/phrases such as ‘strategy’ or ‘strategic direction’ or ‘strategic objective’.Business Source Complete (opens in new tab)ProQuest Business (opens in new tab)Scholars Portal Journals (opens in new tab)Emerald Insight (opens in new tab)Analyst ReportsWritten by research analysts employed by investment banks, consulting and research firms, analyst reports contain specialized content and advice on whether to buy or sell the securities of a company or industry. They can provide such information as a company’s strategic objectives, financial performance, forecasts, valuation, and M&A information.Thomson One (opens in new tab)*Can only be used with Internet Explorer. Contains a comprehensive collection of analyst reports. To search for analyst reports > hover over the ‘Screening and Analysis’ tab > select ‘Research’ > change the date timeframe to receive additional reports > search by company, industry, or other keywords. Watch the video tutorial: Analyst reports: Thomson One.Additional ResourcesDamodaran Online (opens in new tab)A site created by Aswath Damodaran, a Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University.Boston Consulting Group (opens in new tab)Contains publications on M&A, valuation, and more. Search the website with keywords.Citing Your SourcesLaurier Library: Citation Styles (opens in new tab)