VI. Прочитайте и озаглавьте текст 4.2

TEXT 4.2

On December 10th, Charles Stevenson celebrated his much-deserved retirement after thirty-seven years of dedicated service with the company. Charlie began his career in February 1963 as a trainee buyer and over the years he worked his way up to the position of Purchasing Manager. Throughout his career he has seen many changes and watched the company grow immensely - from sales of 2.3 million dollars and 90 employees to 500 million dollars in sales and 3,000 employees today. Looking to the future, Charles will be moving to Palm Beach Florida where he plans to divide his time between his many grandchildren and his pastimes, which are golf and deep-sea fishing. Here at the Telco in-house newsletter, we hope that he will keep in touch with many friends that he has among the staff and we all wish him a very happy retirement.

V. Выберите правильный вариант ответа на вопросы к тексту4.2:

1. Where did this text appear?

a. In a company magazine,

b. In a local newspaper.

c. In an employees' handbook,

d. In a company's annual report.

2. Which of the following things didn’t Charles Stevenson do?

a. He worked for the same company throughout his career.

b. He was responsible for the purchasing department.

c. He joined the company in a junior position.

d. He spent several years in a subsidiary in Florida.

3 What is the purpose of this text?

a. To announce a promotion.

b. To advertise a position that has become vacant.

c. To inform staff of the departure of a manager.

d. To draw attention to new procedures.

VI. Каждое из следующих предложений относится к компаниям, упомянутых в тексте 4.3. Определите, о каких компаниях идет речь:

1. A company that is combining several acquisitions into a new business unit. _______ company: ______________

2. A company that has reached an agreement with another one that will help it to perform better.

_______ company: ______________

3. A company whose shareholders have rejected an offer.

_______ company: ______________

4. A company that is working with one of its direct competitors.

_______ company: ______________ or ______________

5. A company that has been trying to take control of a foreign operation but that has faced unexpected opposition.

_______ company: ______________

6. A company that was hoping to own almost two thirds of the share capital of another.

_______ company: ______________

7. A company that will soon lose one of its top executives.

_______ company: ______________

8. A company that has a guaranteed source of revenue for the next few years. _______ company: ______________

9. A company that has started negotiations to purchase one part of another business.

_______ company: ______________

10. A company that will now have to review its expansion strategy.

_______ company: ______________

4.3. Corporate Alliances and Acquisitions

A. MADRID - Endesa SA's shares fell Thursday after Spain's largest power company lost a bid to control Endesa SA, Chile's biggest utility* holding** company. Endesa shareholders blocked a $1.5 billion offer late Wednesday that would have let Endesa double its 32 percent stake.

The shareholders refused to increase the maximum amount an investor can own in Endesa dashing Endesa's hopes of taking over Endesa to make it the vehicle for its Latin American expansion plans. "We were very surprised by the outcome of the vote," said Ramon Olleros, a fund manager at: AB Asesores, a brokerage in Madrid. "It's very bad news for Endesa."

International Herald Triune

* utility company - a company which supplies the public with gas, water, electricity :

** holding company = a company that holds a controlling number of shares in one or more companies

B. NEW YORK - Dell Computer Corp said Thursday that it would buy $16 billion of equipment from International Business Machines Corp under a seven-year deal that also calls for the companies to jointly develop new computer technology. Both companies' stock rose on the announcement. The deal initially calls for Dell to buy such IBM equipment as disk drives, flat-panel displays and memory chips to use in its computers. The companies eventually expect broader sharing of technology, including co-developing new products. Dell said the deal would help the company increase its competitiveness in notebook personal computers, storage products and servers, which are powerful corporate machines that run networks of PCs. IBM, in turn, will get a guaranteed source of sales.

"These companies are about the biggest competitors that I've ever seen get together on a technology agreement," said George Logemann of the Boston consulting firm Yankee Group.

International Herald Tribune

C. NEW YORK - Siemens AG of Germany is about to expand into the fast-growing data networking business by forming a new American subsidiary, acquiring two private companies in the United States, investing in a third and hiring a senior executive from IBM, executives close to the company's planning said. Siemens, one of Europe's biggest manufacturing companies, also is in preliminary discussions with 3Com Corp about paying $ 1.2 billion for the 3Com unit that sells networking equipment to telephone companies, the executives said. Siemens plans to announce Monday that it has agreed to acquire Castle Networks Inc, a private data-networking company based in Westford Massachusetts, for about $300 million in cash, and Argon Networks Inc, a private data-networking company in Littleton, Massachusetts, for about $240 million in cash, executives said.

Siemens also will announce an agreement to acquire a $30 million stake in Accelerated Networks Inc, a private company based in Moorpark, California.

The acquisitions will be folded into a new Siemens venture to be based in Boston, the executives said.