Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) reshape the corporate landscape helping companies expand market share and gain a strategic advantage. The ability to understand and analyze these transactions is a crucial skill. The first step in acquiring that skill is being able to gather and analyse information on M&As from public sources, such as financial statements. This textbook helps its readers better analyze M&A transactions using information provided in financial statements. Covering accounting and reporting of consolidations, goodwill, non-controlling interests, step acquisitions, spin-offs, equity carve-outs, joint ventures, leveraged buyouts, disposal of subsidiaries, special purpose entities, and taxes, it focuses on the link between underlying economic events and the information in financial statements and how this link affects the assessment of corporate performance. The first part of the book provides description of the accounting rules governing M&A transactions, whilethe second part includes cases of M&A transactions. Each case focuses on a different element of an M&A transaction, and it is followed by a detailed solution with a complete analysis. Unlike other books in this field, this textbook focuses exclusively on accounting and financial analysis for graduate and upper undergraduate level courses in financial analysis, corporate finance, and financial accounting.

Part A - Accounting and Financial Reporting

Chapter 1: Introduction to Accounting for Inter-Corporate Investments
Chapter 2: Main Issues in Purchase Accounting
Chapter 3: More Issues in Purchase Accounting
Chapter 4: Spin-Offs and Equity Carve-Outs
Chapter 5: Special Purpose Entities
Chapter 6: Tax issues in Business Combinations
Chapter 7: Leveraged Buyouts & Recapitalizations
Chapter 8: Financial Analysis of Business Combinations (Ratios)
Chapter 9: Financial Analysis of Business Combinations (Advanced issues)
Part B - Case Studies
Chapter 10: Kraft's Acquisition of Cadbury (Part I) - Purchase Accounting
Chapter 11: The Bank of Hope: The Merger of Wilshire Bank and BBCN Bancorp
Chapter 12: AT&T - Equity Method Investments
Chapter 13: Nokia Siemens Networks - Purchase Accounting, Equity Method and Proportionate Consolidation
Chapter 14: Ensign's Spin-off of CareTrust REIT
Chapter 15: Altria and Kraft - Carve-out and Spin-off
Chapter 16: The Sale ofCoca Tea - The Impact of Taxes
Chapter 17: Surgery Partners - Pushdown Accounting.