Unlike other M&A references, this one-volume guide establishes a framework for analyzing each transaction from a financial perspective, and evaluating your options in terms of how they create value today or better position the company to build value tomorrow. In this newly updated Fourth Edition of Structuring Mergers & Acquisitions: A Guide to Creating Shareholder Value, you get clear, authoritative discussions of: How shareholder value relates to mergers and acquisitions, and different methodologies for valuing a transaction, such as discounted cash flow, comparable company, comparable transaction, premiums paid, price/volume relationships, and private company valuation. How accounting can influence value creating in mergers and acquisitions, a critical aspect of understanding and structuring the proper transaction for differing business circumstances. Collars, break-up fees, lock-ups, walk-aways, minority squeeze outs, earnouts, and anti-trust considerations, and other special topics you will encounter in deals Transactions you may encounter, from plain vanilla deals like mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and leveraged buyouts, to more complicated restructuring alternatives like spin-offs, split-offs, share repurchases, recapitalizations and restructuring options that can enhance shareholder value. Protecting against takeover threats, including legal and structural defenses, with coverage of the most common form of legal defense, the shareholder rights plan. Making aggressive or hostile offers for a company, the pros and cons of 'going it alone' in attempting a hostile acquisition. Performing effective and complete due diligence on a company in the context of a transaction, a critical step that is often overlooked as something 'someone else should do.' Handling the human aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including basic transition tips that can avoid massive pre- and post-deal turnover