Obviously it's real, but it's done because the expected value for the parties that do it is net positive. Again, obviously, it's like a gamble, sometimes it fai

Obviously it's real, but it's done because the expected value for the parties that do it is net positive. Again, obviously, it's like a gamble, sometimes it fails, sometimes it works "great". But. The main point is, healthy corporations are not taken over in leveraged buyouts and whatnots. Companies that would be bankrupt soon are the targets. In that sense these raiders for their own gain what the bankruptcy proceedings does anyway. > mergers Yes, mergers lead to hilariously inefficient giants. And if it goes through the consolidation it manages to be more profitable than the "mergees" together. If it fails, well, eventually they'll lose market share and close, or sell of their parts, or one of the aforementioned corporate raiders does this for them, and so on. However, many times the really big mergers are about simple oligopoly. At that point there's just no real competition between these entrenched already-giant entities. The diseconomies are already there.