Anyone who glances at the financial pages of British newspapers is bound to across the, term 'take-over bid'. He may also about 'mergers', in practice amount to very the same thing. The only difference is of emphasis, since a merger suggests two companies joining forces for their mutual benefit, while a take-over implies one company control of the other the other likes it or not. At one time, it to be Government policy to favour take-overs on the that the bigger a company , the competitive it would be abroad, an analysis that may sometimes be justified but often overlooks disadvantages, all because one has worked out systematically why the of mergers take . The Government has now sponsored a university enquiry into the effects of mergers, is a very sensible step. A company bidding for another may really want to build up a strong combination of resisting foreign competition but it may simply be interested eliminating a smaller, efficient rival, presence in the home market is embarrassing.