This paper reviews relevant accounting implications and domestic transaction trends over the past 10 years involving partial and step acquisitions. Partial acquisitions, where less than 100% of a target entity is acquired, are one avenue to mitigate the risk of failure in M&A transactions.

In analyzing domestic M&A transaction activity over the past 10 years, the authors defined partial acquisitions as any transaction within the initial search criteria whereby less than a 100% interest in the target entity was sought.