Mergers and Acquisitions Research

Factiva – BAE Systems and FT (click to expand)

The possible merger of BAE Systems and EADS is much reported in the financial press at the moment.

Using the Factiva business news database we can see that there have been almost 100 articles about BAE Systems in the Financial Times alone in the last 3 months (almost all about the proposed merger).

However, there is not yet anything definite. On 12 Sept 2010 BAE Systems issued an official statement.  ”Further to the recent movement in BAE Systems’ share price, BAE Systems plc (BAE Systems) and EADS N.V. (EADS) confirm that they are in discussions regarding a possible combination of their businesses. …” (RNS Number 1353M from PI Navigator). There is no specific merger proposal, so there is very little detail that can be recorded in a Merger and Acquisition database.

Thomson Research – Analysts’ reports for BAE Systems (click to expand)

Although the merger is only possible. It is likely to be included in reports be Analysts who follow either of these companies. (Some analysts may delay producing a report until there is a specific merger proposal.)

For more details on Thomson Research see the earlier post Analysts’ Reports on Thomson Research. (Remember Thomson Research only works with IE (internet Explorer)

See also (earlier posts)

• Mergers and acquisitions databases (Nov 2011)
• Researching mergers and acquisitions (Jan 2011)
• Deals info from Thomson One Banker (Mar 2011)

Mergers and acquisition research can involve much more that the financial details of the deals, and remember not all deals are successfully completed.

Update 10 October 2012: EADS and BAE call off merger

• “BAE Systems and EADS announce that they have decided to terminate their discussions” (RNS Number 13955O from PI Navigator).
• EADS, BAE call off world’s biggest arms merger (Thomson Reuters)
• EADS-BAE Pull Plug on Merger Amid Government Opposition (Bloomberg)

How Business News can enhance your Research

Business news can be very useful for gaining a detailed international, national and even regional perspective on current and/or historical company/industry  events.  Search across international news sources, eg: newspapers, news feeds, magazines and industry trade publications, to find up-to-date information and to place events and issues in a social or political context.

 How can Business News Help Me?
Use Business News to complement and enhance your company / industry research, many sources may not have the most up to date information for company / industry events. Business news can help you understand what is happening right now and monitor events as they unfold.

• Gain a detailed perspective on current/historical political issues and events
• Keep up to date with company/industry events as they unfold
• Examine political, economic and market trends
• Track company announcements/results
• Examine historic / current mergers, acquisitions, deals
• Research key political, economic or company personnel
• Gain a competitive advantage for job applications/interviews

Our primary source for business news is Factiva, providing international news (in many languages) from global, national and regional sources including newspapers, news websites, newsfeeds, stock exchange feeds, and business/industry specific magazines.

Factiva will provide news dating back to the early 1980’s. For further historical research you can also consult our Financial Times and Economist archives which provide a full text archive of every issue of the Financial Times and the Economist from the mid 1800′s including market listings, photos, adverts and indicator tables.  These are great resources for understanding the impact of historical events on company/market/economic developments.

For further information see our “How to Research: Business News” and our guide to searching “Factiva” available from the Helping You section of the MBS Library website:

Other Business Research Posts:

• Factiva: Introduction
• Financial Times on Factiva
• Financial Times Historical Archive

Related Manchester Business Answers Questions:

•  Where can I get current news about a company?

Financial Times (FT) online access

The Library does not have a subscription to the Financial Times online (FT.com).

However, FT articles are available from a number of business databases: Factiva (1981 to present), ABI Inform (1996 to present) and the Financial Times Historical Archive (1888 – 2006).

Details on Manchester Business Answers 24/7 (FAQ):

Where can I find the Financial Times (London) online?