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Entrepreneurship & Startups vocabulary · Pivots, Failure & Exits

Acquisition

Meaning in entrepreneurship & startups, with examples

/ˌækwɪˈzɪʃn/nounCommon term

In entrepreneurship & startups, acquisition means: The purchase of one company by another, through buying most or all of its shares or its business. It is the most common exit for startups.

In Turkish: satın alma, şirket satın alımı, devralma

How it is used

Often used with the verb acquire: the company was acquired by a bank. People talk about mergers and acquisitions (M&A), an acquisition offer and the acquirer, meaning the buyer. An acqui-hire is an acquisition made mainly to hire the team.

Example sentences

  1. The acquisition was announced on Monday, but the price was not disclosed.

  2. We turned down an acquisition offer because we believed we could grow much bigger.

Common collocations

  • acquisition offer
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • announce an acquisition
  • be acquired by
  • exitThe way founders and investors turn their shares into cash, usually when the company is sold to another company or lists its shares on a stock exchange.
  • due diligenceA careful check that investors or buyers do before a deal, reviewing a company's finances, contracts, legal status, technology and team to find any risks.
  • IPOInitial public offering: the first time a private company sells its shares to the public and lists them on a stock exchange.
  • stakeThe share of a company that a person or investor owns, usually given as a percentage, for example a 10 percent stake.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Pivots, Failure & Exits

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