Microsoft KB Archive/149873

Money: How to Handle Stock Mergers

PSS ID Number: Q149873 Article last modified on 09-12-1997

3.0 3.0a 4.0 4.0a 5.0

WINDOWS

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If you own an investment that is merging with another investment that you currently do not own, you can easily track this in Microsoft Money. Simply enter a stock split to reflect any share adjustments caused by the merger and then rename the stock to the new name.

However, when you own stock in both of the merging investments, there is no simple way for handling this in Microsoft Money.

This article describes various methods for handling stock mergers in Microsoft Money.

Methods for merging investments vary depending upon your version of Money. See the information below for your version of Money.

Money For Windows 95 - Method 1
If you only own stock in one investment that is merging into another company, follow these steps to split the stock and then rename it:

  If the merger is not a one for one merger, enter a stock split for the investment that is being merged. Use the following steps:   In the Investment Portfolio, click the Split Shares button.   In the Investment field, select the Investment that is to be merged.   In the Date field, type the merger date.   In the Split The Shares section, type the split information. For example: 2 share(s) for every 1 share(s)   Click the OK button.    Rename the investment as follows:   In the Investment Portfolio, use the right mouse button to click the investment and choose Rename. </li>  Type the new name for the investment in the New Name field and click OK. </li></ol> </li></ol>

Money For Windows 95 - Method 2
If you own stock in both investments that are merging, and it is a one-for-one trade (no splits are involved), you may simply rename one stock to the same name as the other. See step 2 above on how to rename an investment.

Money For Windows 95 - Method 3
If you own stock in both investments that are merging, and a split is involved, you can properly track price history of each investment in Money for Windows 95 by entering a sell and a buy on the day of the merger. The drawback of this method is that it does not track the Capital Gains properly. However, you should receive statements from your brokerage firm reporting the correct Capital Gains reported to the IRS. Use the following steps:

  If the merger is not a one for one merger, enter a stock split for the investment that is to be merged. Use the steps outlined above. </li>  Sell the shares in the investment being merged at the last price they were traded for. At the same price, purchase the same number of shares for the investment into which it has merged. To determine how many shares are owned of the investment being merged, go to the Investment Portfolio. This properly tracks price history of each investment but does not track the Capital Gains properly. For information about buying and selling investments, see the “Entering Investments Purchases and Sales” topic in Money’s online Help. </li></ol>

NOTE: If you attempt to rename an investment to an existing investment after entering a split for either investment, you will receive the following error message:

You can’t rename this security because the new name is already being used.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Money version 4.0 and 4.0a for Windows 95. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

Money Version 3.0
If you only own stock in the investment that is merging into another company, follow these steps to spilt the stock and rename it:

  If the merger is not a one for one merger, you will need to enter a stock split for the investment that is being merged. Use the following steps:   On the List menu, click Investment List. </li>  Click the Stock Split button. </li>  In the Stock field, select the Investment that is to be merged, from the drop down list. </li>  In the Date field, type the merger date. </li>  In the Split The Stock section, type the split information. For example: 2 share(s) for every 1 share(s) </li>  Click the OK button. </li></ol> </li>  Rename the investment to the investment it is merging into using the following steps: <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> <li> Click on the stock you want to rename. Then click the Rename button. </li> <li> Type the new name for the investment in the New Name field and click OK. </li></ol> </li></ol>

If you own stock in both investments involved in the merger, you have two options in Money version 3.0. The first option will properly bring over the buy and sell history for Capital Gains reporting. However the stock history will be inaccurate. The second option will properly track price the history of each investment but will not track the Capital Gains properly.

To correctly track Capital Gains:

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;"> <li> If the merger is not a one for one merger, you will need to enter a stock split for the investment that is to be merged. Use the steps outlined above. </li> <li> Rename the investment to the investment into which it is merging, using the following steps: <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> <li> Click the stock that you want to rename. Then click the Rename button. </li> <li> In the New Name field, type the name of the stock into which this stock is merging. </li> <li> Click the OK button when prompted with the following message: An investment named ‘ ’ already exists. Would you like to change all transactions with an investment of ‘ ’ to use that investment instead? </li> <li> Click the close button. </li></ol>

This properly transfers the buy and sell history for Capital Gains reporting. The stock history, however, will be inaccurate. </li></ol>

To correctly track price history:

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;"> <li> If the merger is not a one for one merger, enter a stock split for the investment that is to be merged. Follow the steps outlined above. </li> <li> Sell all shares in the investment being merged at the last price they were traded for. At the same price, purchase the same number of shares for the investment it has merged into. To determine how many shares are owned of the investment being merged, go to the Investment Summary window. This will properly track price history of each investment but will not track the Capital Gains properly. For information about buying and selling investments, see pages 230-231 in chapter 28 of the version 3.0 “Microsoft Money User’s Guide.” </li></ol>

KBCategory: KBUSAGE KBSubcategory:

Additional reference words: w_money kbhowto 97 merge Rollerbob

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========================================================= Version : 3.0 3.0a 4.0 4.0a 5.0 Platform : WINDOWS ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1997.