In an Effort to Gain Approval of Their Proposed Merger

question 24

Essay

In an effort to gain approval of their proposed merger from the FTC, top executives from Exxon Corporation and Mobil Corporation argued that they needed to merge because of the increasingly competitive world oil market. Falling oil prices during much of the late 1990s put a squeeze on oil industry profits. Moreover, giant state-owned oil companies are posing a competitive threat because of their access to huge amounts of capital. To offset these factors, Exxon and Mobil argued that they had to combine to achieve substantial cost savings. Why were the Exxon and Mobil executives
emphasizing efficiencies as a justification for this merger?

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Definitions:

Mechanization

The process of using machinery and technology to perform tasks that were previously done manually.

Slave-Owning Indians

Indigenous peoples in the Americas who owned slaves, a practice influenced by European colonization.

Confederacy

The group of eleven southern states that seceded from the United States from 1860-1861, forming the Confederate States of America and initiating the Civil War.

Native Americans

Native Americans are the indigenous peoples of the United States, including both the tribes that have been living in North America for thousands of years and their diverse cultures and societies.