Mergers and Acquisitions

A selection of business English discussion questions.

See more business English discussion topics

  1. Why do companies sometimes choose to merge? What are the advantages of doing so?
  2. What can go wrong when two companies merge?
  3. Can you think of a famous example of two companies which merged?
  4. Do you think it is likely that in future your company will merge with another one?
  5. How would you feel if your company merged with a rival?
  6. What should a manager do to ensure a successful merger?
  7. In general, is it a good thing when large companies acquire smaller ones?
  8. Would you be happy if your company was acquired by a larger one?
  9. What are the advantages of working for a bigger company?
  10. What are the advantages of working for a smaller company?
  11. When a small company is acquired by a larger one, does it lose its values?
  12. If you had built up a successful company over 30 years and your main rival offered you twice its value, would you sell it to them?
PDF (Individual)
General
PDF (Pairs)
General
PDF (Threes)
General
PDF (Cards)
General
How to use the mergers and acquisitions ESL discussion questions

It is recommended that you download the mergers and acquisitions ESL discussion questions in PDF format using one of the links above. The best way to encourage classroom interaction is to download and print the mergers and acquisitions discussion questions in the 'pairs' or 'threes' PDF format and then divide the questions by cutting along the dotted lines. This allows students to take turns asking and answering the mergers and acquisitions discussion questions in groups of two or three. Alternatively, you could use the 'cards' format to distribute the questions to any number of students to ask and share.

It is advisable to prepare students for using these discussion questions by first introducing them to the topic of mergers and acquisitions in an interesting and engaging way. An anecdote, quiz question or a related image or video could all be used to achieve this. Depending on the level, it may also be necessary to pre-teach any challenging vocabulary related to mergers and acquisitions contained in the discussion questions.

For more ESL discussion questions, see this site's main page. There are discussion questions on a range of topics including general, grammar and business English topics.

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