Vocabulary notes

merger – слияние компаний

acquisition – приобретение

pooling of interests – слияние компаний

assume – принимать на себя

flip side – обратная сторона

divestiture – отделение, отторжение

trust – трест, концерн

horizontal merger – горизонтальное слияние

economies of scale – экономия, обусловленная ростом масштаба

производства, эффект масштаба

fend off – отражать, противостоять

vertical merger – вертикальное слияние

access – доступ, подход

supplies – сырьё и материалы; предметы снабжения

conglomerate merger – конгломератное слияние (разнородных

предприятий)

augment – увеличивать, прибавлять

diversify risks – вкладывать капитал в различные предприятия с

целью избежания вероятности риска

Text 4 shareholders

Although a corporation’s shareholders own the business, they are rarely involved in managing it, particularly if the corporation is publicly traded. Instead, they elect the board of directors to represent them. The directors, in turn, select and monitor the top officers, who actually run the company.

Theoretically, the shareholders – who can be individuals, other companies, not-for-profit organizations, pension funds, and mutual funds – are the ultimate governing body of the corporation. In practice, most individual shareholders in large corporations – where the shareholders may number in the millions – accept the recommendations of management. However, sometimes the employees of the corporation are major shareholders, as with Avis and United Airlines. Employee stock ownership is one way the shareholders are able to have a more direct influence on the value of their investment.

Typically, the more shareholders a company has, the less tangible influence each shareholder has on the corporation. However, some shareholders have more influence than others, because different types of stock carry different privileges. Preferred stock does not usually carry voting rights; however, it gives stockholders the right of first claim on dividends. In spite of its name, preferred stock is far less popular as a funding vehicle than common stock, though dividends paid on preferred stock tend to be higher than those paid on common stock. Common stock carries voting rights, but it gives the stockholder the right of claim on the corporation’s assets only after all preferred stockholders have been paid. In other words, preferred stock pays more dependable dividends than common stock, but common stock typically gives the shareholder a greater say in how the company is run. In neither case are dividend payments guaranteed. Common stockholders get to elect the company’s board of directors as well as vote on any major policies that will affect ownership – such as mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers. The value of the company’s common stock goes up and down (depending on the company’s success or failure). So if shareholders sell their stock in good times for more than they paid for it, they stand to pocket a handsome gain.

Otherwise, in neither case are dividend payments guaranteed.