Top M&A books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite M&A books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of M&A

Understanding the concepts of M&A starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

M&A Titans: The Pioneers Who Shaped Wall Street's Mergers and Acquisitions Industry

This book focuses on the 11 men, lawyers and bankers, who are responsible for the creation of Wall Street's merger industry. It specifically concentrates on the events and personalities who dominated Wall Street during the takeover battles of the 1970s and 1980s.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Mergers And Acquisitions for Dummies

Mergers & Acquisitions For Dummies is your insider's handbook about the practice of buying and selling companies. It explains the entire M&A process step by step, introduces you to industry specific terms and acronyms, details the documents used when buying or selling a company, discusses valuation techniques, reveals insights about how to finance deals, provides real world examples of how to …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

What is Barbarians at the Gate about? Barbarians at the Gate (1989) tells the story of one of the largest corporate deals in US history, the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. These blinks provide a gripping portrait of the extreme and extravagant behavior in corporate America during the 1980s.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions

Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions, Second Edition is a highly accessible and authoritative book that focuses on the primary valuation methodologies currently used on Wall Street--comparable companies, precedent transactions, DCF, and LBO analysis--as well as M&A analysis. These methodologies are used to determine valuation for public and private compa…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Art of M&A: A Merger Acquisition Buyout Guide

The book explores every key aspect of winning M&A transactions, and presents advice on avoiding common M&A pitfalls. Filled with detailed examples and case studies, this updated classic also includes discussion of purchase accounting, Section 404, new legal cases with M&A implications, and more.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Mergers and Acquisitions from A to Z

Complete with expert advice, case studies, checklists, and sample documents, Mergers and Acquisitions from A to Z walks you through every step of the process--from valuation to securities laws to closing and successful integration.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional M&A Reading

These books are not required for you to learn M&A, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Mergers and Acquisitions: A Step-by-Step Legal and Practical Guide

Mergers and Acquisitions offers accessible step-by-step guidance through the M&A process to provide the legal and financial background required to navigate these deals successfully. From the initial engagement letter to the final acquisition agreement, this book delves into the mechanics of the process from beginning to end, favoring practical advice and actionable steps over theoretical conce…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Mergers and Acquisitions Playbook: Lessons from the Middle-Market Trenches

Drawing from his nearly three decades of experience, during which he completed over 125 merger and acquisition transactions, author and successful investment banker Mark Filippell uses his wealth of real-world experience and true case studies to reveal the nuts and bolts of valuing your company, marketing it, negotiating the deal points, and closing the transaction―all with an insider’s perspe…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities: An Integrated Approach to Process, Tools, Cases, and Solutions, Ninth Edition, is the most current, comprehensive and cutting-edge text on M&A and corporate restructuring available. It includes many of the most up-to-date and notable deals and precedent setting judicial decisions, as well as new regulations, trends and tactics employed…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies (Wiley Finance)

Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies is a handbook that can help managers, investors, and students understand how to foster corporate health and create value for the future—goals that have never been more timely.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Restructurings

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Restructurings provides a comprehensive look at the field's growth and development, and places M&As in realistic context amidst changing trends, legislation, and global perspectives. All-inclusive coverage merges expert discussion with extensive graphs, research, and case studies to show how M&As can be used successfully, how each form works, and how they a…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Financial Modeling and Valuation: A Practical Guide to Investment Banking and Private Equity

"In Financial Modeling and Valuation, Paul Pignataro provides individual investors with an easy-to-use, step-by-step method for analyzing companies and their securities using the same financial modeling techniques used by professionals. By using Walmart, an American icon that is familiar to all, as a case study, Paul makes financial modeling come alive. Paul trained our staff in Beijing and is…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your M&A books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Only 1 Spot Left

Hello there! 你好!はじめまして! I am an Analytics Engineer and Senior Data Scientist, and previously a Tech Lead at the University of Chicago Urban Labs. I am passionate about leveraging technology to solve human problems, and have many years of experience in managing hiring processes for data teams. I believe strongly …

$270 / month
  Chat
3 x Calls
Tasks

Only 5 Spots Left

Experienced software engineer who has worked in finance, media, energy, and life science. Currently running operations for QBench, a SaaS platform in the laboratory market. Trevor and his partner acquired the controlling stake in QBench in 2022. He is passionate about mentoring software engineers for greater leverage through systems building, …

$170 / month
  Chat
3 x Calls


I bring over two decades of international experience in building, growing, selling, and managing global financial service institutions and start-ups. I have a results-driven approach and consistently enhanced business performance. I provide: • A personal mentoring approach with relaxed time constraints. • Proven experience in business mentoring or consulting. • …

$460 / month
  Chat
4 x Calls
Tasks

Browse all M&A mentors

Still not convinced?
Don’t just take our word for it

We’ve already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they’ve left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a M&A mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."