Research and Course Guides: Finance Resources: Mergers & Acquisitions Information

SEC Info

The merger & acquisition industry is regulated by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). The forms that are required to be filed are described in the links below.

SEC Mergers
Contains information on the Securities & Exchange (SEC) disclosure rules. It provides a description of many of the common M&A SEC filings related to mergers, such as forms S-4, 14D9 and 14D6.
Guide to SEC Filings
This guide by ThomsonReuters gives good descriptions of the various Securities and Exchange (SEC) filings required by the government for mergers and acquisitions.
EDGAR
Search by company name for SEC filings related to mergers, such as forms S-4, 14D9,14D6, and 8-K, from 1993 to present.

Websites

Dealbook: Mergers and Acquisitions
A major section of the New York Times Business content, provides headlines, news, commentary, and reader comments on mergers and acquisitions

Databases

Use the following sources to find articles and commentary about particular M&As. Search by company name(s) or ticker.

PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Financials and information for hard to research private companies.
PrivCo user guide
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Contains current information on companies, industries, and financial markets. It also contains up-to-the-minute news articles from publications around the world and many smaller market news sources, trade magazines, and journals. Limited to 6 simultaneous users.
Dow Jones Factiva guide
If you use Factiva's Share>Within My Account feature to find links for emailing or to use in Canvas, that URL needs to be adjusted with a special code to connect it with our subscription. Copy that URL and paste it into our ProxyMe! widget to create the adjusted URL.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Public company financial data, SEC filings, and industry information. Investment analyst reports available via the Investext module.
Note: Mergent will be discontinuing the Mergent Online platform in mid-2025. Its replacement, Mergent Market Atlas, is available now.
Use of the Mergent data and service are intended for non-commercial academic purposes only.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
This is a comprehensive database that contains abstracts and the full text of thousands of business and news publications as well as country and industry reports, company profiles, SWOTs, and market research reports.
Business Journals (including Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal) This link opens in a new window
Bizjournals contains full text articles from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal which provides in depth news about Minnesota companies and business environment along with 39 additional business journals from other cities. It also contains the annual Book of Lists which provides local company rankings going back to 1996, including a ranked list of local M&As.
Reference Solutions from Data Axle This link opens in a new window
Powerful business and consumer research database that offers access to information on millions of businesses and households across the United States. It provides data on company profiles, business demographics, industry information, and residential listings. Exporting of data is limited to batches of 500 items at a time.
Reference Solutions user guide
D&B Hoovers This link opens in a new window
Contains comprehensive company information from international public companies, detailed industry reports, analyst reports, SEC filings, and market research.
Subscription does not include access to Business Contact credits (direct dial and email addresses).