Acquirer

An acquirer can be a person or a corporation gaining financial control over some other corporation permanently. This acquisition is done by giving cash or stock in exchange, to gain the rights over that corporation. It can also be understood with the example that an acquirer is a financial institution which is approached to approve a credit or debit card purchase. The acquirer will either reject the purchase or accept it by placing money into the sellers account. With the payment that the acquirer gives for the subject matter he then becomes the rightful owner and the ownership in the property is legally transferred to that person or firm.

Acquirer should be kept separated from the term acquisition. The firm purchasing the company is the acquisition and the acquirer may also be regarded as the bidder. Acquirer can be a person or a firm willing to gain possession of another corporation.

It is usually seen that after the transaction is completed the acquirer may see a short term decline in the stock prices of the subject matter purchased if is a public listed company. This is mainly because of the uncertainty the investors face regarding the potentiality of the buyer, and the risk involved in the transfer of ownership. Also, is must be kept in mind that the acquirer will pay a certain amount as a premium for the purchase.

It is important to take in notice that the subject matter shall be a business entity. If it's an event or a transaction the acquirer shall do the accounting considering it as an asset acquisition. The IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) is very clear about it that after the transaction is complete it is the duty of acquirer to report accordingly in the financial report. IFRS has set principles for the acquirer as to how the financial statements shall be measured and recognized with the identical subject matter in view. Further, how to recognize the gain or the goodwill arising because of the business and the information that is to be disclosed to the users of financial statements to evaluate the effects of the business combination or acquisition.