Nothing that refined. Execs do mergers simply because stock price go brrrrr, which is what their bonuses are about. When the projected gains will fail to mater

Nothing that refined. Execs do mergers simply because stock price go brrrrr, which is what their bonuses are about. When the projected gains will fail to materialize and the acquisition mismanagement will be laid bare, they'll be somewhere else anyway. Occasionally it's because the acquired company is really on its last leg, and they're trying to cash in by leaving some sucker to hold the bag. Also occasionally, because the acquiring company has been given a bunch of money and they have to show that they're serious about growth, so they'll just buy anything and anyone even tangentially related to their business. These are the sympathetic explanations. The unsympathetic ones involve security fraud and anticompetitive behavior; but, of course, those would be wrong for anyone to allege. No honest exec would ever accept under-the-table payments, or a promise of future windfall or lucrative job, to greenlight a takeover by a rival; we all know execs are honourable people.