SELECTING AND ASSESSING A TARGET FIRM FOR AN INTERNATIONAL MERGER OR ACQUISITION ELENA NIKOLOVA, Ass. MSc. 1 , MARIJA GOGOVA, Ass. MSc. 2 , MARGARITA MATLIEVSKA Ass. Prof. PhD. 3 , KRSTE SAJNOSKI Ass. Prof. PhD. 4 Key words: mergers and acquisitions, target, bid price, value, synergy Abstract International mergers and acquisitions (M & A) as a way of restructuring the companies represent an important part of the world of corporate finance. Every day the Wall Street investment bankers arrange M & A transactions in which individual companies are merging together to form larger and stronger companies than they are. Not surprisingly, such activities often appear on the news. These contracts totaled hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars. They determine the future of the companies involved and all their employees, which is far from irrelevant. The executive director who manages the acquisition or the merger could achieve the peak in his/hers career with this transaction. And no wonder we hear so much about these transactions because they happen all the time. The next time you open the newspaper in the area of Business and Economics the chance to read at least one title for some kind of M & A transaction is really great. The basic idea: one plus one makes three - is an equation with a special alchemy for mergers or takeovers. The key principle of merging or buying a company is to create higher value than the sum of individual values of both companies. The two companies together are more valuable than two separate companies, at least, that's the reasoning behind M & A. This explanation is particularly attractive to companies when times are tough. Strong companies will seek to buy other companies to strengthen their position and be competitive. The companies share a common hope that they will gain more market share or achieve greater efficiency. Because of these potential benefits, target companies often agree to be purchased, especially when they know they can’t survive alone. Regardless of their category or structure, all mergers and acquisitions have one common goal: they are meant to create synergy. The success of mergers or acquisitions depends on whether this synergy is achieved and which is the price for that goal. Identifying the target company. There are several ways to identify which company is most suitable target company for a merger or acquisition. One of the most exploited principle is creating a profile of the target company. The profile includes the desired features that the company should possess, as to be compatible for a merger or a takeover. The list of features includes: type of activity, size of company, its market position, number and structure of employees, production range, the structure of assets and equity, profitability, indebtedness and liquidity, and many similar indicators. Once you create a profile of the target company, it is time to find such a company and access it with an appropriate offer. Best practices usually create a list of potential target companies, which includes: • Current competitors’ companies • Suppliers’ companies • Distributors’ companies 1 Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, University of “Goce Delcev”, Stip, Macedonia E-mail: elena.nikolova@ugd.edu.mk 2 Department of Finance, Faculty of Economics, University of “Goce Delcev”, Stip, Macedonia E-mail: marija.gogova@ugd.edu.mk 3 Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, University of “Goce Delcev”, Stip, Macedonia E-mail: margarita.matlievska@ugd.edu.mk 4 Department of Finance, Faculty of Economics, University of “Goce Delcev”, Stip, Macedonia E-mail: krste.sajnoski@ugd.edu.mk