acquisition

noun ac·qui·si·tion \ ˌa-kwə-ˈzi-shən \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: acquisition in a Sentence

Definition of acquisition

1 : the act of acquiring something

acquisition of property

the acquisition of knowledge

2 : something or someone acquired or gained

The team announced two new acquisitions.

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acquisitional

play \-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective

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acquisitor

play \ə-ˈkwi-zə-tər\ noun

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Examples of acquisition in a Sentence

Steven Schwartzman, the billionaire CEO of Blackstone, suffers no personal liquidity problems. But his firm, and others like it—have had to call off a series of proposed acquisitions because they can't get financing. —Daniel Gross, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2008
The gifting of books, too, endured as a legacy of our book hunting. I quickly learned not to ask for newly published books as birthday or Christmas presents, since they provided my father with too little of a challenge. The measure of a gift's value was the amount of thought and effort that went into its acquisition. —Charles Mitchell, Bloomsbury Review, November/December 2002
Although some believe that the rise of advertising and strip malls have fostered slavish devotion to shopping where it didn't exist before, Hine posits that the acquisition of objects has a firm place in humanity's history. —Publishers Weekly, 7 Oct. 2002
McKnight and Ward, free-agent acquisitions who each have only one full season as a starter, have brought much-needed speed to the position. But rookie Chris Chambers, a second-round draft pick from Wisconsin, is the jewel. —Jeffri Chadiha, Sports Illustrated, 1 Oct. 2000
the country's acquisition of new ships
The big company's newest acquisition is a small chain of clothing stores.
The museum has put its latest acquisitions on display.

Recent Examples of acquisition from the Web

However, this acquisition involves firms that seek much of their revenues from royalties on acreage leases after buying the minerals rights from property owners.

— jordan blum, Houston Chronicle, "New Falcon Minerals created to focus on Eagle Ford," 4 June 2018
There’s more than money on the line in Microsoft’s planned $7.5 billion all-stock acquisition of code-hosting and collaboration site GitHub.

— klint finley, WIRED, "Microsoft’s GitHub Deal Is Its Latest Shift From Windows," 4 June 2018
While teen vaping has been on the rise over the last several years, Juuls appear to have ushered in a cultural phenomenon among teens, a trend fueled by the addictive power of nicotine, the ease of acquisition and the pull of peer pressure.

— jill tucker, SFChronicle.com, "As Juul vaping surges among teens, health concerns grow," 27 May 2018
The deal, which is expected to close later this summer, follows by six years UTC’s $18 billion acquisition of Goodrich Corp., a Charlotte, N.C., manufacturer of aerospace parts and components such as landing gear.

— stephen singer, courant.com, "UTC To Hire 35K Workers Over Next 5 Years Including Thousands In Connecticut," 23 May 2018
The Detroit Pistons lost their 2018 first rounder (12th overall) because of the January acquisition of Blake Griffin. 1.

— Detroit Free Press, "NBA mock draft 1.0: Where do MSU's Jaren Jackson, Miles Bridges land?," 20 May 2018
Savage has announced acquisitions of other companies in recent years, including a hazardous and nonhazardous waste removal company and a company that removes waste coal.

— mark davis, kansascity, "111-year Kansas City employer agrees to merge into Utah conglomerate in private deal | The Kansas City Star," 15 May 2018
Ryan Hemmerling, founder of ExOfficio, had worked with EGI, got wind of the acquisition, and expressed interest in coming on board to help develop the brand.

— ariella gintzler, Outside Online, "GoLite, Thru-Hikers' Favorite Brand, Is Back. Sorta.," 10 May 2018
The 133rd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by Dallas, Switzer was traded to the Raiders following the Cowboys' acquisition of Tavon Austin.

— peter dawson, star-telegram, "Here's what Ryan Switzer said about being traded away from the Cowboys | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 7 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acquisition.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of acquisition

Middle English adquysicyoun, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French acquisition, borrowed from Latin acquīsītiōn-, acquīsītiō, from acquīsī- (variant stem of acquīrere "to acquire") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

acquisition Synonyms

Synonyms

accession;

Financial Definition of ACQUISITION

acquisition

noun

What It Is

An acquisition is the purchase of all or a portion of a corporate asset or target company.

How It Works

An acquisition is commonly mistaken with a merger – which occurs when the purchaser and the target both cease to exist and instead form a new, combined company.

When a target company is acquired by another company, the target company ceases to exist in a legal sense and becomes part of the purchasing company. Acquisitions are commonly made by using cash or debt to purchase outstanding stock, but companies can also use their own stock by exchanging it for the target firm's stock. Acquisitions can be either hostile or friendly.

For example:

Let's assume Company XYZ wants to acquire Company ABC. Company XYZ starts to buy ABC shares on the open market, but once Company XYZ acquires 5% of ABC, it must formally (and publicly) declare to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) how many shares it owns. Company XYZ must also state whether it intends to buy ABC or just hold its existing shares as an investment.

If Company XYZ wants to proceed with the acquisition, it will make a "tender offer" to ABC's board of directors, followed by an announcement to the press. The tender offer will indicate, among other things, how much Company XYZ is willing to pay for ABC and how long ABC shareholders have to accept the offer.

Once the tender offer is made, ABC can accept (1) the terms of the offer, (2) negotiate a different price, (3) use a "poison pill" or other defense to avert the deal, or (4) find another company, who hopefully will pay as much or more as XYZ is offering, to buy them.

If ABC accepts the offer, regulatory bodies then review the transaction to ensure the combination does not create a monopoly or other anti-competitive circumstances within the industries involved. If the regulatory bodies approve the transaction, the parties exchange funds and the deal is closed.

Why It Matters

Companies acquire target companies as a growth strategy because it can create a bigger, more competitive, and more cost-efficient entity. This synergy -- the idea that the two companies together are more valuable to the shareholders than they are apart -- is elusive, but it is the idea used to justify most acquisitions. A well-executed acquisition can be the crowning jewel of a CEO's career.

Knowing how to analyze acquisitions can put individual investors in a great position to profit from the stock price fluctuations that accompany them.

Click here to learn How to Play the Buyout Game: 3 Tips for Finding the Best Deals

Source: Investing Answers