All else equal, would a company prefer to acquire using cash, stock, or debt?

• Usually cash or debt, since both are typically less dilutive than issuing stock, though it depends on relative costs
• Stock, because paying in shares conserves the buyer's cash and is generally the cheapest acquisition currency available
• Whichever is most expensive, since a costlier currency signals a more serious, committed bid
• Always debt, regardless of the deal, because interest is tax-deductible while equity is not
• It makes no difference to EPS, so acquirers pick the form of payment more or less at random