M&A Resources

Founded in 2005, Pacific M&A Inc. is a premier boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory and Brokerage Company dedicated to the successful acquisition, sale, merger or recapitalization of companies in the $2 million to $75 million range. Armed with local knowledge and a global reach, Pacific specializes in providing Merger & Acquisition (M&A) services to both sell-side and buy-side clients, Private Equity, Valuations, Strategic Planning and general M&A advisory services.

Pacific’s Business Broker and M&A Team:

  1. Supports their client’s objectives with a high level of knowledge, experience and professionalism by providing senior-level attention on each engagement through a proprietary systematic process.
  2. Have successfully completed transactions across a broad range of industries.
  3. Understand your business acquisition goals, and concerns from the inside because each have bought and sold companies of their own so you can count on their first-hand experience in every acquisition.
  4. Bring the best practices of the M&A industry to bear with high standards for professional competence and ethics that entails even on the smallest business transfer deals. This unique industry perspective and experience defines their unmatched satisfactory results.
  5. Your best hedge against unforeseen problems in a potential acquisition is to engage the services of a Pacific Business Broker and M&A professional with extraordinary experience.

The Pacific Difference: A Difference You Can See – A Difference You Can Feel

  • Experienced
  • Trusted
  • Committed
  • Focussed
  • Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • Proactive Approach
  • Proven Methodology
  • Proprietary Systematic Processes
  • Proprietary Valuation Systems
  • Relationship Driven
  • Extensive relationships
  • Personalized Hands on Approach
  • Full service
  • Knowledgeable
  • Professional
  • Certified
  • Anticipating & eliminating “deal killers” before they happen

Pacific M&A and Business Brokers is a highly successful leader in its field with a full complement of in-house support staff to assist in all aspects of the business acquisition including valuations, marketing, due diligence and advisory services.

Pacific’s obvious success is rooted in their solid experience and proven performance and where in each and every case, they begin by listening to their clients’ needs and goals and follow by delivering a highly personal and professional service that results in long term client relationship.

Defining Mergers and Acquisitions in British Columbia

Difference Between a Merger and an Acquisition

In a Merger, two similar-sized companies are combined together and typically so are their names.

So company ABC acquired Company XYZ and the two become one company either ABC or XYZ or ABCXYZ. In such merger, one of the management emerges as the dominant management.

In an Acquisition, typically a larger company buys a smaller company and the smaller company is then a subsidiary of the larger company and often retains their name as well. Typically the acquisition is that of 100% of the shares/stock or operating assets of the target company. Management here is often retained.

The words Merger and Acquisition however are often used interchangeably even though they mean something very different.

Many options exist in M&A such as:

  • Vertical Suppliers or customers in this case can be strategic and or synergistic.
  • Horizontal Competitors such as an industry buyer, this can also be a strategic or synergistic industry buyer.
  • Product or market extension where complimentary products are the key and strategic is most often the objective.
  • Buyer can be private or public company.
  • Important that there is value being created due to synergies between the companies where economies of scale or economies of scope can be taken advantage of. Such as sharing or transferring of competencies or sharing infrastructure etc.

Implementation Issues in M&A

Cultural Differences

True Merger, also known as a statutory merger, occurs when Private company mergers with and into a Public company and the Private company then becomes extinct while the Public Company is the surviving entity.

Reverse Merger, where a private company acquires a majority of the shares/stock in a public shell company, which is then combined with the purchasing entity. It is a way for private companies to go public without an IPO. It’s typically through a simpler, shorter, and less expensive process than that of a conventional initial public offering. A reverse merger is an attractive strategic option for managers of private companies to gain public company status.

Reverse Triangular Merger is the formation of a new company that occurs when an acquiring company creates a subsidiary, the subsidiary purchases the target company and the subsidiary is then absorbed by the target company.

reverse triangular merger diagram

Forward or Direct Merger is where the target company merges with and into the buyer, the buyer assumes all of the target company’s assets, rights and liabilities and the target company ceases to exist as a separate entity.

diagram illustrating direct merger

Forward Triangular Merger involves the acquisition of a target company by a subsidiary of the purchasing company. The only difference between a forward triangular merger and a direct merger is that a subsidiary of the purchasing company, not the purchasing company itself, is the entity that acquires the target.

forward triangular merger diagram