What predators look for in public and private firms

Singapore

SMALL and underperforming public companies are more likely to become acquisition targets, while the reverse is true for private companies, a study has found.

In the study, which was published on Friday, researchers from technology and deal-related service provider Intralinks and Cass Business School found that private companies are more likely to become acquisition targets if they are large, fast-growing, with high profitability, high leverage and low liquidity.