How do you track new mergers and acquisitions from SEC filings?
When a US-listed company signs a merger agreement, it usually reports it on Form 8-K within 4 business days (Investor.gov), and the deal then leaves a trail of filings until it closes. Following those filings is the free way to track deals. Tamarly's deals tracker lists every deal first filed with the SEC in the last 30 days, grouped by the industry of the company being bought.
Which filings mark each stage of a deal?
| Stage | Filing | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Agreement signed | 8-K, Item 1.01 | The parties, the form of payment and the main terms (Investor.gov) |
| Communications | Rule 425 | Press releases and slides about the deal, filed as they go out (17 CFR 230.425, Cornell LII) |
| Stock offered as payment | S-4 or F-4 | The registration of the buyer's shares, with both companies' financials |
| Shareholder vote | Merger proxy (DEFM14A) | The background of the deal, the fairness opinion and the vote date |
| Tender offer | Schedule TO | An offer made directly to shareholders (17 CFR 240.14d-100, Cornell LII) |
| Completed | 8-K, Item 2.01 | That the acquisition closed |
How many deals were filed this month?
In the 30 days to 31 October 2026, 186 deals were first filed with the SEC. 45 had completed, 60 were announced or signed and 4 were tender offers (Tamarly deals tracker, 31 October 2026).
How do you read deals by industry?
Each deal is placed in the industry of the target, from the industry code on its SEC company record, or of the buyer when the target is not in the catalogue. The largest industry comes first, and each group opens with one sentence: how many deals, how many completed, and the newest pair. Read the status column for the stage. Watch for investment vehicles: a blank-check company (SPAC) merging with a private business is a listing route, and a holding company buying a stake may not change who runs the business.
Step by step
1. Open the deals tracker and go to your industry. 2. Open a deal page to see its filings in order, from the first 8-K to the closing. 3. Read the merger agreement summary in the 8-K, then the background section of the proxy or S-4 for how the deal came about. 4. Build a list of similar targets with how to build a target list for M&A.
Where does Tamarly fit, and where does another tool fit better?
Tamarly fits when you want new deals the day they reach EDGAR, by industry, each linked to its filings and to the company pages of both sides. The tracker is open to everyone. It covers deals with an SEC filing, so a private company buying another private company, with no listed party, will usually be missing; for those, the news and paid deal databases go further. Level 2 adds deal terms, multiples and precedent transactions where the filings state them.
Open the deals tracker, free and updated every hour
Frequently asked questions
How fast does a signed merger appear on EDGAR?
A listed company generally files its 8-K within 4 business days of the event (Investor.gov). Many file the same day, with the press release attached under Rule 425 (17 CFR 230.425, Cornell LII).
What is the difference between a merger vote and a tender offer?
In a merger vote, shareholders approve the deal at a meeting described in the proxy. In a tender offer, the buyer offers to buy shares directly and files a Schedule TO (17 CFR 240.14d-100, Cornell LII). On 31 October 2026, 4 of the 186 deals in the Tamarly tracker were tender offers (Tamarly deals tracker).
Does the deals tracker show deal prices?
The open tracker shows the parties, the status and the filings. Prices and terms appear on the deal page when the filings state them, from Level 2.
About the author. Melvine Manchau is the founder of Tamarly and author of the Tamarly Newsletter. He previously worked at PwC, Salesforce, BlackRock/eFront and Lazard.
About Tamarly Research. Tamarly Research is part of Tamarly Media, which holds no investment positions. Tamarly is a New York research house that studies how AI is changing regulated institutions.