The article reveals a number of methodological issues related to solving a set of tasks that arise at the initial stages of preparing commercial transactions for mergers and acquisitions of business structures by interested initiator companies. The directions of improving the terminological, specific research base and legal aspects that are the methodological basis for the creation and implementation of merger and acquisition projects are proposed. The organization of pre-project procedures to determine the forecast of the effects and risks associated with the takeover of the business for the initiator of the transaction is justified. The article describes the concept of choosing methodological approaches to obtain a realistic preliminary assessment of the potential market value of the company being absorbed and to measure the amount of investment required for this project with the future economic and other benefits of the company initiating the transaction, including the synergetic effect. The features of the formation and use of the information base for conducting evaluation procedures in order to determine the market value of the absorbed company and the transaction price are given.