Precedent library

Research for defensible precedent analysis.

Start with the decision you need to make. Each guide explains how to interpret sourced M&A transaction facts and where the limits of the evidence matter.

Choose a research path.

Select a precedent set

Evaluate the data source, choose comparable deals, handle status and outliers, and defend the resulting range.

Oct 8, 2026

What Is a Precedent Transaction in M&A?

A precedent transaction analysis benchmarks a deal against comparable transactions that have already closed. Here's how it works and where the data comes from.

Oct 18, 2026

How to Evaluate a Precedent Transaction Database Before Buying Access

Test known-deal coverage and source evidence, then size search, reveal and with-multiples allowances before buying a precedent transaction database.

Oct 8, 2026

How to Select Precedent Transactions for a Defensible Valuation

Selection is the hardest step in precedent transaction analysis. Here's how M&A practitioners filter for comparability, handle a thin set, and present a defensible range.

Oct 6, 2026

Announced versus Completed Deals in a Precedent Transaction Set

How to verify whether an M&A deal closed, preserve announced and closing terms separately, and choose a defensible value and financial period for a precedent set.

Oct 8, 2026

Strategic Buyer vs. Financial Sponsor Multiples in Precedent Transactions

Why strategic acquirers and private equity sponsors pay different prices, how the difference shows up in a precedent set, and how to segment buyer types for a defensible analysis.

Oct 8, 2026

Control Premiums in M&A: How to Find, Calculate and Apply Them

How M&A practitioners find the unaffected share price, calculate a control premium from public deal data, and apply it in a precedent transaction analysis.

Sep 23, 2026

Handling Outlier Transactions in a Precedent Set

How to identify, categorize and document outlier transactions in a precedent analysis — and when excluding a deal is defensible versus when it looks like cherry-picking.

Oct 8, 2026

How to Present a Precedent Transaction Valuation Range

How M&A practitioners convert a precedent multiple range into an implied valuation range, choose summary statistics, and present the output in a pitchbook or fairness opinion.

Oct 8, 2026

Reading a Fairness Opinion: What the Selected-Transaction Analysis Tells You

A fairness opinion discloses the banker's precedent set and multiples. Learn how to read the table, check the adviser's screen, and verify each transaction independently.

Interpret valuation multiples

Check the numerator, denominator, financial period and adjustments before comparing deals.

Feb 3, 2026

EV/EBITDA Multiples in Precedent Transactions, Explained

EV/EBITDA is the most common multiple used to compare precedent M&A transactions. Here's what it measures, why it varies by sector, and how to read it correctly.

Sep 30, 2026

EV/EBIT Multiples in M&A Precedent Analysis

For capital-intensive sectors, depreciation is a real recurring cost that makes EBIT more relevant than EBITDA. How to find, normalize, and apply EV/EBIT in a precedent set.

Sep 11, 2026

EV/Revenue Multiple in M&A: When to Use It and How to Read It

EV/Revenue measures deal price against target revenue, not earnings. Here's when it applies in precedent analysis, what drives the multiple, and how to avoid errors.

Sep 7, 2026

LTM versus NTM Multiples in Precedent Transaction Analysis

Choosing the wrong financial period can shift a precedent multiple by 20–30%. Here's how to identify, verify, and normalize LTM and NTM multiples across a comparable set.

Sep 8, 2026

How to Normalize EBITDA Across Disclosed Precedent Transactions

EV/EBITDA multiples are only comparable when the EBITDA is measured consistently. Here's how practitioners normalize across a precedent set.

Sep 21, 2026

Reported vs. Calculated Multiples in Precedent Transactions

A reported multiple is stated in a filing. A calculated multiple is derived from two separate disclosures. Labelling each type prevents hidden inconsistency in a precedent set.

Sep 22, 2026

Currency and FX Rate Selection in Cross-Border M&A Precedent Analysis

A cross-border deal adds a currency layer to every multiple. Which exchange rate to use, and where to find it, for deal price and financial metric alike.

Reconcile deal value and terms

Trace what was offered, what changed at closing and how each component affects value.

Sep 6, 2026

Equity Value vs Enterprise Value in an Acquisition

Most M&A deal prices are negotiated as enterprise value, not equity value. Here is how to bridge the two and why mixing them up breaks a precedent set.

Sep 29, 2026

Diluted Share Count and Equity Value in M&A Transactions

In M&A, equity value uses fully diluted shares—not basic shares. Learn the treasury stock method, RSU and PSU treatment, and where to find the inputs in SEC filings.

Sep 19, 2026

Net Debt in M&A: What to Include, Exclude, and Where to Find Each Component

Net debt is the largest variable in the EV/equity bridge. What qualifies as debt, what stays out, and where to find each component in deal filings.

Sep 18, 2026

Non-Controlling Interests in M&A Enterprise Value: How to Find, Value, and Record Them

Minority interests in the EV bridge can shift a precedent multiple materially. How to find NCI in public filings and record it consistently across a transaction set.

Sep 6, 2026

How Cash, Debt, and Earnouts Affect Transaction Value

A practical guide to normalizing fixed consideration, debt, cash, and contingent earnouts before comparing values and multiples across M&A transactions.

Sep 12, 2026

Stock Consideration in M&A: Exchange Ratios, Collars, and Normalizing Non-Cash Deals

How to read exchange ratios and collar structures in merger agreements, value stock consideration at announcement, and normalize cash and stock deals in a precedent analysis set.

Sep 15, 2026

Contingent Value Rights (CVRs) in M&A: Valuation, Disclosure, and Precedent Analysis

How to find CVR terms in merger filings, value a CVR at announcement, decide whether to include it in enterprise value, and record it consistently in a precedent transaction set.

Sep 14, 2026

Rollover Equity in M&A: What It Means for Precedent Analysis

How rollover equity works in PE buyouts, where it is disclosed in SEC filings, how it affects EV calculations, and how to normalise rolled deals in a precedent set.

Sep 26, 2026

Purchase Price Adjustments in M&A: Working Capital Pegs and Closing Consideration

How purchase price adjustments in M&A work: the working capital peg, locked-box versus completion accounts, and which SEC filing shows the final consideration paid at closing.

Oct 1, 2026

Merger Termination Fees and Reverse Termination Fees in M&A

How break-up fees and reverse termination fees work, where to find them in SEC filings, and how to document them correctly in a precedent transaction set.

Verify the evidence

Find primary disclosures and preserve source lineage in AI-assisted valuation work.

Sep 19, 2026

Where to Find M&A Deal Terms in SEC Filings

A filing-type map for finding signed consideration, merger agreements, fairness analyses, tender terms, amendments and completion evidence without mixing deal events.

Sep 25, 2026

Where to Find M&A Deal Terms in Non-US Jurisdictions

A jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction guide to finding publicly disclosed deal terms, consideration mechanics, and completion evidence for UK, European, and Asia-Pacific M&A transactions.

Oct 5, 2026

Why Finance AI Valuation Needs Sourced Precedent Transaction Data

A single wrong deal field can contaminate every valuation multiple an AI calculates. Use this evidence model for transaction status, value, currency and financial periods.

Sep 19, 2026

An AI-Ready Precedent Transaction Data Schema

The fields, relationships and calculation lineage an AI system needs to screen M&A precedents without mixing transaction status, value, currency or financial periods.