VOA慢速英语 2007 0119a

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Companies combined or bought other businesses at record levels last year. Almost four trillion dollars in deals worldwide represented an increase of nearly forty percent from the year before. So far in January, merger¹ and acquisition activity has remained strong.


Delta² Air Lines, currently in Federal Bankruptcy³ Court protection, is a target of US Airways⁴

In the airline industry, US Airways this month raised its recent offer to buy Delta to ten billion dollars. If that goes through, there could be other airline deals coming.

General Electric has recently added some new manufacturers to its mix of businesses.

But in the biggest deal of last year, AT&T merged⁵ with the telecommunications company BellSouth. That deal in the United States was valued at seventy-three billion dollars, not including debt.

The satellite radio industry has had increasing talk of a merger between XM and Sirius, the two major companies. But the head of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington said this week that one company could not own both operating licenses⁶.

With all the deals last year, investment banks did well. Goldman Sachs advised on more than four hundred mergers⁷ -- valued at over one trillion dollars. Citicorp and Morgan Stanley were not far behind.

A merger is when two or more companies combine their operations. Generally the combined company is able to negotiate lower prices with suppliers because of its bigger size and market. Jobs are sometimes also cut in mergers to save money.

The idea is to increase the value of the combined company for shareholders⁸. But that does not always happen. Some experts suggest that only one merger in three creates big gains for shareholders. At the same time, mergers can reduce competition, resulting in higher prices.

The simplest way for companies to combine is through an acquisition. One company buys another. A hostile takeover is when the target company did not invite or approve an offer to its shareholders.

Last year, the world's biggest steelmaker, Mittal of India, succeeded in buying all the shares of its top competitor, Arcelor of Luxembourg.

Companies may take a large part or a small part in guiding the policies of the businesses they acquire. Investor⁹ Warren Buffett is known for buying controlling shares of stock in companies but leaving their management teams in place. He says he is not interested in companies without established management.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

4 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

5 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

6 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

7 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

9 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。