How companies buy and sell businesses, from strategic rationale and the sell-side process to deal structure, regulatory approvals and the 2026 market.
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This course walks through a merger or acquisition the way practitioners experience it. It starts with why companies buy and sell and how strategic and financial buyers think differently about value, then follows a typical sell-side process from the first anonymous teaser to signing and closing. It explains the structural choices that allocate risk between buyer and seller, including stock versus asset deals, earnouts, escrows and representations and warranties insurance. It then covers the approvals that can stand between signing and closing, including Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification, CFIUS review of foreign investment, and the FINRA rule that governs fairness opinions. It closes with a sourced look at the M&A environment as of November 2026. Every factual statement is tied to a primary source or a reputable law-firm, academic or industry publication, and the course is educational only: it is not investment, legal or tax advice.
