Negotiation data from mergers & acquisitions

Description

This database consists in one file ‘Negotiation Data.csv’. It contains data on negotiation between public US companies announced between 1994 and 2022. The data was collected programmatically from EDGAR under the section ‘Background of the Deal’ until the end of the negotiation. Each row of the database is a unique meeting. I have isolated each meeting using the dates contained in the negotiation summaries and the initial formatting of each document.  Although, I have conducted extensive checks to minimize the presence of errors. Some errors can remain, as the data was collected using an automated scrapping algorithm. More details on the database construction can be found in the accompanying research paper.

Variables

The database contains the following variables:

-          start_date (date): The starting date of the meeting(s).

-          end_date (date): The ending date of the meeting(s). When the meeting takes place at a precise date, this variable is equal to start_date.

-          text (str): This is the corresponding text of the meeting.

-          file (str): This is the path of the file on EDGAR. The files are accessible from a browser by adding ‘https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/’ before the desired item. This variable is unique and can therefore be used as a key.

-          form (str): The corresponding form that was used by the filler to publish the summary of the negotiations.

-          filling_date (date): The date where the filling was posted on EDGAR.

-          CIK_filler (int): The CIK code of the company that submitted the filling on EDGAR. Depending on the type of the form, this can be the CIK code of the acquirer or of the target. In general, if the form is a S-4 or SC 14D1 form, the filling was posted by the acquirer. Otherwise, it was posted by the target.

Source

If you use this data, please cite EDGAR and the following paper:

Maître, A. T. (2025). Effects of Financial Advisors on Deal Outcomes: Evidence from SEC Filings.  Unpublished working paper.