Acquisition

n. act of acquiring; purchase, something acquired or obtained

The phrase mergers and acquisitions (abbreviated M&A) refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies  that can aid, finance, or help a growing company in a given industry grow rapidly without having to create another business entity.
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Noun
1. the act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something; "the acquisition of wealth"; "the acquisition of one company by another"
(hypernym) acquiring, getting
(hyponym) incurring
(derivation) get, acquire
2. something acquired; "a recent acquisition by the museum"
(hypernym) transferred property, transferred possession
(hyponym) accession, addition
3. the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge; "the child's acquisition of language"
(synonym) learning
(hypernym) basic cognitive process
(hyponym) conditioning
(derivation) learn, larn, acquire
4. an ability that has been acquired by training
(synonym) skill, accomplishment, acquirement, attainment
(hypernym) ability, power
(hyponym) craft, craftsmanship, workmanship
(derivation) learn, larn, acquire

n. acquisition, attainment; procurement; addition

(n.)
The thing acquired or gained; an acquirement; a gain; as, learning is an acquisition.
  

(n.)
The act or process of acquiring.