If you want a successful business acquisition, you need to harness the power that comes from having as much choice as possible.
If you need options then you need well-considered acquisition plans. You may not get very far with a short corporate wish list with a couple of target companies.
You need access the right acquisition data, which should come from a number of different data sources. Some of these are well known, others are very much industry-dependent.
Then, you then need to analyse to develop a target list with a clear view of the financials, the shareholders, the trading and the business.
If you really want choice then the chances are you will need to consider off-market activity. The chances are that there may be only a few companies for sale today that fully fit your brief.
You can probably count them on one hand. Or possibly just a finger.