Activities and sources of further information
- Use the Biz/ed sources that follow to make brief notes on the following aspects of takeovers:
- Why companies take over others and why it is accepted
- How it takes place
- The difference between vertical and horizontal integration
- The meaning and practical evidence of economies of scale
- Do you agree that it is important to protect firms in certain sectors of the economy from foreign takeover? If so, which companies and industries should be protected? Create a list of arguments in favour of this position.
- Choose one of the takeovers listed in this resource. Track its success or failure over a period of months. Does the case you choose back up the argument that the benefits of hostile takeovers are unconvincing?
Sources
Biz/ed sources:
Takeovers in the travel and tourism industry - BTEC Travel & Tourism activity. (http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/tourism/business/activity/ownership.htm)
Mergers, takeovers and product differentiation in the car industry - BTEC Business resource. (http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/business/marketing/lesson/mergers.htm)
Takeovers and business growth - Mind Your Business resource. (http://www.bized.co.uk/current/mind/2003_4/010304.htm)
Other sources:
As EU raises takeover barriers, Brussels sounds protectionism alarm - from EUbusiness.com. (http://www.eubusiness.com/Competition/060226035528.9uzcxv03)
The EU takeover Directive and the competitiveness of European industry - from the Oxford Council of Good Governance [205 Kb PDF] (http://www.oxfordgovernance.org/fileadmin/Publications/EY001.pdf)
Takeovers - from Wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeovers)
Body Shop agrees L'Oreal takeover - from BBC News. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4815776.stm)
EU warns over state protectionism - from BBC News. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4788860.stm)
Uneven playing field makes UK ripe for takeovers - from Guardian Unlimited. (http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1725180,00.html)