Unit 16
Mergers and acquisition
職場攻略/辦公日常
Workplace English/Communication in Workplace
BRAIN STORM
Share your ideas with your teacher and try to make sentences.
What do you think is the purpose of a merger?
VOCABULARY
Repeat these sentences after your teacher.
1. acquisitions (n.) 公司收購
Our acquisitions are lesser this year.
今年我們的收購要少一些。
2. horizontal merger (phr.) 水準兼併
A Horizontal merger is inevitable.
橫向合併是不可避免的。
3. venture (v.) 冒險
They were the astronauts on the first venture to the moon.
他們是首次登陸月球探險的太空人。
4. overhead costs (phr.) 間接成本
The overhead costs of the company have skyrocketed.
公司的間接費用猛增。
5. economies of scale (phr.) 因經營規模擴大而節約成本
To save costs, we will have economies of scale.
為了節省成本，我們將獲得規模經濟。
6. vertical merger (phr.) 垂直兼併
Vertical merger happens with a supplier.
縱向合併與供應商發生。
7. conglomerate M and A (phr.) 混業併購
The conglomerate M and A will happen.
聯合企業M和A將會發生。
8. integration (n.) 整合
The integration of ethnic minorities into the community.
少數民族融入社區。
Dialogue
Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.
So let’s talk about mergers and acquisitions! Mergers and acquisitions, or M and A, refer to the consolidation of companies. A merger is when two companies come together and create one new company. An example of a merger is when Delta Air Lines merged with Northwest Airlines in 2008.
An acquisition is when one company buys out another company. No new company is formed and the company that was bought out becomes part of the company it was bought by. Acquisitions are also referred to as takeovers. An example of an acquisition is when JPMorgan Chase Bank took over Washington Mutual bank in 2009.
那讓我們來談一談企業併購吧！ 企業併購或簡稱”M和A”，是指公司之間的合併。 企業合併是指兩家公司一起組成一家新的公司。 例如達美航空公司在2008年與西北航空公司的合併。
收購是指一家公司買下了另一家公司，並沒有新公司成立，被收購的公司成為買家公司的一部分。 收購也可看做是接管。 例如摩根大通銀行在2009年接管了華盛頓互惠銀行。
Now let‘s talk about some types of M and A. First, the horizontal merger. A horizontal merger is when two companies competing in the same industry join together. An example of this would be if McDonalds and Burger King were to merge companies. Some benefits are to save on costs, by having economies of scale and reducing overhead costs; have an increased market share; and the companies would be able to venture out to new market opportunities.
Second, the vertical merger. A vertical merger is when a firm or company combines with a supplier. An example of this would be if an automobile company such as Ford, were to buy a tire company, such as Michelin Tires. The benefit would be that the company could hurt its competitors, since their competitors would now be buying tires from them.
下面我們來談談公司併購的一些種類。 首先是水準兼併。 水準兼併是指兩家在同一領域競爭的公司合併了。 比如麥當勞和漢堡王合併。 好處是由於具有規模經濟而減少營業間接成本，從而節約成本;同時增加市場份額;兩家公司也能開 拓新的市場機遇。
第二個是垂直兼併。 垂直兼併是指一家公司與一家供應商聯合。 比如一家汽車公司，比如福特，購買了一家輪胎公司，比如是米其林輪胎。 好處是重擊競爭對手，因為這樣他們的競爭對手要向他們購買輪胎。
Third, the conglomerate M and A. This is when there is a merger between two companies that are in two completely unrelated business sectors. An example of this would be if an automobile company were to buy a café. The purpose of the conglomerate might be diversification of capital investment, in hopes to profit in another market.
Now, let’s move on to why mergers and acquisitions are sometimes unsuccessful.
The goal of M and A is usually to help an enterprise grow and continue profiting. But sometimes they fail at reaching the level of profits a company predicted. Figuring out some determinants of their success and failure may be a way of solving this issue.
第三個是混業併購。 就是兩家不同領域的公司合併。 比如一家汽車公司要購買一家咖啡館。 混業併購的目的是資產投
資多樣化，並在其他市場獲取利潤。
現在我們來談談為什麼有時候公司併購並不成功吧。 公司併購的目的是 幫助企業壯大並持續獲利。 但有時候，企業
並未達到預期的利潤。 瞭解導致他們成敗的原因可能可以解決此類問題。
The objective should be to have both companies follow a common frame of reference that shows conflicting issues from different perspectives. This will help eliminate any problems with the full integration of both companies. Another determinant to look at is employee turnover; this can also contribute to the failures of M and A. For the ten years following a merger, the turnover rate of these companies is double the rate experienced by non-merger firms.
目標應該是兩家公司都沿著一個指導框架，從不同角度指出問題所在。 這有助於消除兩家公司合併帶來的問題。 另一個值得注意的決定性因素是人員流動問題，這也可能導致公司併購走向失敗。 在併購後接下來的十年裡，這些公司的人 員流動率比沒有併購的公司翻了一番。
Grammar
Second conditional(第二條件句)
The second conditional is used in unreal (impossible) or improbable situations. In a second conditional sentence, the if clause uses the past tense, the main clause usually has would plus a verb. Here’s an examples:
1. If I were the boss, I would give everyone new office chairs.
2. If I were rich, I’d travel the world.
3. I’d buy a new sweater if I were you.
4. If I knew how to get there, I would tell you.
DISCUSSION
Make a conversation with your teacher.
1.What do you think will change in a company’s operation, if it will undergo a merger?
