Legal Definitions - acquisition

Definition: Acquisition refers to the process of gaining possession or control over something. It can also refer to something that has been acquired.

• The acquisition of a new company's assets by another company.
• A valuable acquisition, such as a rare painting or antique.
• Creeping acquisition, which is the gradual purchase of a corporation's stock at varying prices on the open market.
• Derivative acquisition, which is an acquisition obtained from another, such as through a sale or gift.
• New acquisition, which is an estate not originating from descent, devise, or gift from the parental or maternal line of the owner. For example, an estate acquired from a nonrelative is a new acquisition.
• Original acquisition, which is an acquisition that has never been the property of anyone else, such as a copyright owned by an author.

These examples illustrate how acquisition can refer to the process of gaining control or possession over something, as well as the things that are acquired through this process. For instance, the acquisition of a new company's assets by another company involves the gaining of control over those assets. Similarly, a valuable acquisition, such as a rare painting or antique, refers to something that has been acquired through the process of purchasing or obtaining it in some other way.