How would I find out what a public company paid for a private company
if they didn't release the details of the transaction to the public??

Thanks,
Joel

As you may know, unlike private companies, U.S. public companies must
disclose certain business information and have it filed with the
United States' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A transaction
of the type you mention would certainly need to be disclosed. While
the specifics of the transaction may not be easily accessible to the
public, they can still be obtained.

Here is a link to the official SEC site:
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm

The EDGAR database also provides access to SEC disclosures. Here are
links to both a scaled down free version and the premium subscription
site.
http://www.freeedgar.com/

http://www.edgar-online.com/

This site, called the "Disclosure Database", provides access to SEC
disclosures from over 12,000 public companies.
http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0101.html


Additional Links

This site gives some good instruction on how to use the above
databases:
http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/1996/0596/depts/cpacom.htm

This site provides some quality links that may be helpful:
http://www.corporateinformation.com/uspriv.html

Outstanding for company research at this site:
http://www.hoovers.com/

Dow Jones Interactive Library provides a comprehensive search covering
thousands of trades and periodicals.
http://www.factiva.com/

This is an archive site of industry research and marketplace
statistics. Information is recent up to September 2001.
http://www.thestandard.com/

Here is some information on new corporate disclosure rules:
http://www.sec.gov/news/headlines/corpdiscrules.htm


Google Search Terms Used:

"public company disclosure"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22public+company+disclosure%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&start=30&sa=N

"public company records"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22public+company+records%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&start=20&sa=N

"public company disclosure rules"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22public+company+disclosure+rules%22&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8

Thanks for your question. I'll be happy to clarify my answer if this
isn't what you are looking for.

Joel:

As you know, on small transactions, the public company does not have
to disclose the purchase price although it often can be deduced from
the notes in their financial statements. A technique I have used is to
buy a couple of shares of stock in the public company, then call the
chief financial officer or invester relastions person as a
"stockholder" and request the information directly. More often than
not, they will give you a bit more information than they have
disclosed if you are polite and direct.

seedy

something like:

"my name is so and so. I recently became a stockholder in your company
on a very prelimary basis. I noticed that you have purchaed xyz
company but have not disclosed the purchase price. Please provide me
with details of this transaction since it will help me with future
investment decisions."

Check the financial statements and the financial notes in the public
company's 10Q or 10K that is dated to cover the date of the
transaction in question. This information may not be explicitly
itemized in the financial statements, so you may need to meticulously
scope the notes in the back.