Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity in retailing is widespread. Nevertheless, little scholarly research has addressed this subject from the perspective of antecedent conditions present in retail M&A activity. The present study examines a variety of finance-, marketing-, and corporate-related variables that have been proposed as likely antecedent conditions for M&A activity. The results indicate that preconditions for M&A activity can be identified and the probability of becoming a bidder and target retailer can be determined on the bias of these variables. Implications of becoming a target firm are highlighted, as are characteristics of bidder and nonmerging firms.