Welcome to the Financial Times Lexicon

Browse thousands of words and phrases selected by Financial Times editors and suggest new terms for the glossary.

 

Term of the day

acquisition
This is when one company takes a controlling interest in another.

When a company (typically referred to as the ‘acquirer’, ‘buyer’ or ‘bidder’) purchases a second, usually smaller, company (called the ‘acquiree’ or ‘target’); the second company can either be continued as a separate legal entity or ceases to exist and the assets of the target are then integrated into the buying company.

If both companies cease to exist and a third company is created from the two legacy companies, the term...

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