M&A resources

M&Apedia is a free reference for people who do not yet do this work full-time. The resources below are the sources practitioners actually use — organised by what each one is good for. Where a listing has a commercial relationship with M&Apedia or its sponsor it is labelled accordingly; everything else is included on the merits.

General references

Broad-coverage finance references for first-pass terminology and general orientation.

• Investopedia — General-finance definitions, broad coverage and consistent quality. Strongest for first-pass terminology.
• Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) — Free reference articles paired with paid certifications. Strong on valuation, modelling and process content.
• Wall Street Prep — Practitioner-oriented training with high-quality free reference content on M&A process and modelling.
• Aswath Damodaran (NYU Stern) — The definitive academic reference on valuation. Free spreadsheets, datasets, lectures and books.
• Mergermarket / S&P Capital IQ / PitchBook — Subscription deal databases used by bankers and PE firms for trading and precedent comps.

Practitioner content

Reference and training material written by people who run deals, for people who run deals.

• Macabacus — Pure-practitioner reference on financial modelling, M&A mechanics and IB-style standards.
• Street of Walls — M&A and PE training materials targeted at junior bankers and analysts.
• M&A Science — Practitioner podcast and playbooks; strongest on integration and deal execution at corporate acquirers.
• Deloitte / PwC / KPMG / EY M&A insights — Big Four publications on diligence, integration, tax and accounting in M&A.
• Harvard Business Review — M&A — Strategy-oriented analysis of M&A success and failure.

Standards and regulation

The standards-setting bodies and regulators whose publications govern how M&A is reported, taxed and reviewed.

• IFRS Foundation — IFRS 3 Business Combinations — The IFRS standard governing business-combination accounting.
• FASB — ASC 805 Business Combinations — The U.S. GAAP standard governing business combinations.
• U.S. FTC — Premerger Notification (HSR) — Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger filing requirements and current thresholds.
• U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division — DOJ guidance on horizontal and vertical merger enforcement.
• European Commission — DG Competition — EU Merger Regulation and the European Commission’s competition reviews.
• U.S. Internal Revenue Code (Cornell LII) — Tax-code sections relevant to M&A: 338, 368, 382, 1202.

Tools and data

Subscription databases and standards used in formal valuation, quality-of-earnings and other transaction-services work.

• BVR / DealStats / Pratt’s Stats — Subscription private-deal multiple databases used in business-valuation engagements.
• AICPA — Statement on Standards for Valuation Services (SSVS) No. 1 — AICPA standard for CPA-led business-valuation engagements.

SponsorFeatured: Main Street Wealth

Main Street Wealth is the M&A advisory firm that sponsors M&Apedia. Boutique M&A advisory firm specializing in home-services businesses — HVAC, plumbing, roofing, pest control, landscaping, pool services and adjacent skilled trades (typically $1M–$50M enterprise value). It publishes market analysis, exit guides, a knowledge base, valuation tools and anonymized case studies for owners, buyers and M&A practitioners. Their practitioner content goes deeper on home-services M&A specifically:

• M&A Knowledge Base — Long-form reference content on mergers, acquisitions and the deal process.
• Mergers and Acquisitions — overview — Practitioner overview of how M&A works for owner-operated businesses.
• Understanding Business Valuation Methods — How buyers value small and mid-sized companies, with worked examples.
• Complete M&A Process Timeline — Stage-by-stage walkthrough of a transaction from preparation to closing.
• Free Business Valuation Tool — Interactive estimator of business value for home-services owners.
• M&A Tools & Calculators — Calculators, checklists and interactive tools, including an exit-multiple analyzer.
• M&A Resources & Insights — Articles, guides and market analysis updated weekly to monthly.
• Case studies — Anonymized narratives of closed deals across home-services trades.
• Sell a business — Sell-side advisory process, timelines and seller resources.
• Buy a business — Buy-side process for strategic and financial buyers.

Disclosure: Main Street Wealth is the sponsor of M&Apedia. Read more about how this relationship works and how the encyclopedia stays editorially independent.

More on M&Apedia

• A–Z contents — Every article in the encyclopedia.
• Selling your home-services business — The seller’s playbook — timeline, terms, FAQ.
• Home-Services M&A Multiples Report — Annual data report (CC BY 4.0).
• Editorial policy — How articles are written, sourced and reviewed.
• Methodology — Methodology for the encyclopedia and the multiples report.
• About M&Apedia — Mission, team, sponsor relationship.