Findings from several studies on
corporate mergers and acquisitions
during the 1970's and 1980's raise
questions about why firms initiate and
(5)consummate such transactions. One
(acquisition的定義:If a company or business person makes an acquisition, they buy another company or part of a company.)
study showed, for example, that acquir-
ing firms were on average unable to
maintain acquired frims' pre-merger
levels of profitability. A second study
(一個研究顯示, 例如那個併別人的公司平均上不能夠維持被併公司合併前的利潤)
(10)concluded that post-acquisition gains
to most acquiring firms were not ade-
quate to cover the premiums paid
to obtain acquired firms. A third
(第二個研究推斷出併後的利益對於大部份併別人的公司不能足夠的去支付被併公司之前給員工的獎金)
demonstrated that, following the
(15)announcement of a prospective
merger, the stock of the prospective
acquiring firm tends to increase in
value much less than does that of
the firm for which it bids.
(第三個研究就是說當未來要merger的消息放出時, 併購別人的公司的股價反而比被併的公司股價涨的少) Yet merg-
(20)ers and acquisitions remain common,
and bidders continue to assert that
their objectives are economic ones.
Acquisitions may well have the desir-
able effect of channeling a nation's
(25)resources efficiently from less to
more efficient sectors of its economy,
but the individual acquisitions execu-
tives arranging there deals must see
them as advancing either their own or
(30)their companies' private economic
interests. It seems that factors hav-
ing little to do with corporate economic
interests explain acquisitions. These
factors may include the incentive
compensation of executives, lack
of monitoring by boards of directors,
and managerial error in estimating the
value of firms targeted for acquisition.
Alternatively, the acquisition acts of
bidders may derive from modeling:
a manager does what other man-
agers do.
Q11: According to the passage, during the 1970's and 1980's bidding firms differed from the firms for which they bid in that bidding firms(併人公司與被併公司的不同在哪)
A. tended to be more profitable before a merger than after a merger(反而利潤變少吧)
B. were more often concerned about the impact of acquisition on national economies(27~31行有講到併人公司在乎的是companies' private economic interests)
C. were run by managers whose actions were modeled on those of other managers(是有講到,但是不是兩者的差異)
D. anticipated greater economic advantages from prospective mergers(不是兩者的差異)
E. experienced less of an increase in stock value when a prospective merger was announced(第13到19行)
Ans:E
Q12:It can inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about corporate acquisitions?
A. Their known benefits to national economies explain their appeal to individual firms during the 1970's and 1980's.(作者沒說)
B. Despite their adverse impact on some firms, they are the best way to channel resources from less to more productive sectors of a nation's economy.(是個方法沒錯, 但是不是the best)
C. They are as likely to occur because of poor monitoring by boards of directors as to be caused by incentive compensation for managers.(作者沒說)
D. They will be less prevalent in the future, since their actual effects will gain wider recognition.(作者沒說)
E. Factors other than economic benefit to the acquiring firm help to explain the frequency with which they occur.
Ans:E
(說真的, 我不知道為什麼選E, 求救各位大大)
Q13:The author of the passage implies that which of the following is a possible partial explanation for acquisition behavior during the 1970's and 1980's?
A. Managers wished to imitate other managers primarily because they saw how financially beneficial other firms' acquisitions were.
(manager會學別的manager去併購, 不是因為他們有從中獲利)
B. Managers miscalculated the value of firms that were to be acquired.
C. Lack of consensus within boards of directors resulted in their imposing conflicting goals on managers.(沒提及)
D. Total compensation packages for managers increased during that period.(沒提及吧!!)
E. The value of bidding firms' stock increased significantly when prospective mergers were announced.(沒有significantly的增加吧)
Ans:B
(這題我真的不知道為什麼選B, 因為從文章中我看不到有miscalculate的類似字眼, 請各位大大明示)