三個單詞均指公司之間的相互整合或合并。準確地講,acquisition應譯為“購并”,merger應當譯為“兼并”,而consolidation則應譯為 “合并”。以acquisition方式進行的購并,多指 一個公司以收購某公司股份的方式進行接管或達到控股的目的(the obtaining of controlling interest in a company [1]),結果是兩個法人的實體地位在交易之后仍可同時存在,鑒于收購所需資金關系,故此種方式多用作收購小公司。相比之下,merger所指的是一個公司對另一個公司的兼并,其多以被兼并公司的消亡形式進行,但有時也可保留被兼并的公司的名稱,或兼并公司成為被兼并公司的控股公司,但此時被兼并公司已失去其法人身份,不再是獨立的商務實體(an amalgamation of two corporations pursuant to statutory provision in which one of the corporations survives and the other disappears. The absorption of one company by another, the former losing its legal identity, and the latter retains its own name and identity and acquiring assets, liabilities, franchises, and powers of the former, and absorbed company ceasing to exist as separate business entity[2])。目前流行的公司之間的“并購”,則指merger and acquisition,略為MA,指用收購方式進行的兼并。consolidation常用于大公司的合并,在合并時多有新資本注入, 其與merger和acquisition的主要區(qū)別在于consolidation是把兩個或兩個以上的公司合并成為一家新公司,而原有的諸公司都得宣布解散(Merger differs from a consolidation wherein all the corporations terminate their existence and become parties to a new one[3]) 。
[1]Cf. Linda Picard Wood, J.D. , Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Law, at p. 10, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (1996).
[2]Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary (with Pronunciations), abridged 6th edition,at p. 682,West Publishing Co. (1991).
[3]Id. at p. 682.