Use this workflow to monitor acquisition and merger events so you can reach companies when priorities shift, vendors are reassessed, and new operational needs emerge.
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll know how to create an M&A activity signal agent, refine it with transaction criteria, limit daily volume, define the scope you want to monitor, and route identified signals into your outbound process.
Why this matters
M&A events often create the perfect window for outreach. When companies acquire or merge, teams may revisit tooling, operations, vendors, and headcount priorities, giving you a strong reason to start a relevant conversation at the right time.
This signal helps you act on those changes faster by surfacing new events you can use to trigger campaigns, create tasks, and personalize your messaging with event-specific context.
Prerequisites
You should already have access to Signal agents in lemlist.
You should already have enough credits available to process identified signals.
Core lesson: Build your M&A activity workflow
Phase 1: Start a new signal agent
Go to Signal agents, then click Create signal agent. This opens the builder where you’ll choose the signal type and configure how new M&A events should be handled.
Phase 2: Choose the signal to detect
In the signal picker, open Company growth, then select Mergers & acquisitions. This signal tracks M&A activity and helps you identify companies experiencing acquisitions, mergers, leveraged buy-outs, or management buy-outs.
Phase 3: Configure the M&A signal
Enter an Agent name, set the M&A minimal amount in USD, choose one or more M&A transaction types, then click Next. This helps you focus only on the types of deals most relevant to your outreach strategy.
Available transaction types include Acquisition, Merger, Leverage buy-out, and Management buy-out. You can select the options that best match your targeting strategy.
Tip: Use a higher minimum amount if you only want to target larger, more strategic transactions. Use transaction type filters if your offer is especially relevant after a merger versus a buy-out.
Phase 4: Define the scope and daily limit
In the Scope step, select All segments if you want to retrieve all companies that trigger the signal. Then review the Criteria section and add filters like location, industry, or company size if you want to narrow the results.
Next, set the maximum number of signals identified per day to control how many M&A events you want to process. Billing is 100 credits per identified signal, so your daily cap directly affects expected credit usage.
If you want to start cautiously, choose a lower daily cap first. You can always increase it later once you see the quality and volume of identified events.
Phase 5: Decide how signals should be processed
Choose how you want identified signals to flow into your workflow. You can review signals manually or enable Auto-create tasks so your team can review events, qualify accounts, and personalize outreach before taking action. If you create tasks automatically, configure the task details before continuing.
If you select task creation, configure the task details such as:
Task type
Owner type
Fallback owner
Priority
Title
Instructions
This step matters because M&A events often require tailored messaging. Assigning tasks ensures someone reviews the context before reaching out.
Phase 6: Review and finalize the signal agent
Check the summary before confirming your setup. Review the selected signal type, M&A criteria, billing estimate, signal processing method, and scope settings to make sure everything matches your intended workflow.
Once confirmed, finish creating the signal agent.
What data each M&A signal includes
Each identified signal can include the following details:
Acquirer name and website
Acquiree name, website, and location
Transaction type
Amount in both USD and native currency when available
Announcement date
Source links, such as news articles or Crunchbase when available
This gives your team enough context to prioritize the event and personalize outreach without needing to research every deal from scratch.
Practical application: How to use M&A signals in outreach
Once an event is identified, you can use it to trigger campaigns or build highly relevant messaging. M&A signals work especially well when your offer helps with consolidation, onboarding, integration, reporting, vendor rationalization, or operational change.
Example: If a U.S.-based technology company acquires a French software business for $15M, you can personalize your outreach around:
The acquirer and acquiree
The transaction type
The deal amount
The announcement date
The likely post-deal challenge, such as integrating systems or standardizing vendors
Sample angle: “Congrats on the acquisition of [Acquiree]. Teams often revisit tooling and workflows right after a deal like this, especially across [location/region]. If streamlining [your category] is on your roadmap, I’d be happy to share how similar teams handled post-acquisition change.”
Best practice: Reference the event, but lead with the business implication. The signal creates relevance; your message should connect that event to a practical next step.
Troubleshooting & pitfalls
Issue: I’m getting too many signals.
Root cause: Your signal agent is too broad or your daily cap is too high.
Fix:
Increase the minimum amount
Limit the transaction types you monitor
Add narrower filters for industry, location, or company size
Reduce the daily cap
Issue: The results don’t match the companies I expected.
Root cause: Your scope or criteria are too broad or not aligned with the type of buyer you want to target.
Fix:
Review your criteria in the Scope step
Make sure your filters reflect the type of acquirer you want to target
Adjust location, industry, and company size filters accordingly
Issue: My team can’t keep up with new events.
Root cause: The processing workflow is too manual or the cap is too high.
Fix:
Create tasks automatically for identified signals
Assign a fallback owner so nothing is missed
Lower the daily cap until your team can handle the volume consistently
Issue: Credit usage is higher than expected.
Root cause: Each successful identified M&A event costs 100 credits.
Fix:
Use the daily cap to limit volume
Tighten your signal criteria
Review the summary page before activating the signal agent
Issue: I’m not seeing signals immediately.
Root cause: New signal agents may take time to begin surfacing events.
Fix:
Confirm the signal agent was created successfully
Check that your filters are not overly restrictive
Allow time for new matching events to be received from the M&A event source
Key takeaways
M&A activity helps you identify companies during moments of change.
You can refine the signal with minimum amount and transaction type.
Scope and criteria help you control which companies are monitored.
A daily cap helps control both workflow volume and credit usage.
Each successful identified M&A event costs 100 credits.
Signals can be used to trigger campaigns or guide highly personalized outreach.