The most obvious are the workers whose jobs are eliminated, especially older workers, women and minorities, who disproportionately bear the brunt of layoffs, according to government data. Customers often suffer through service interruptions, and communities lose part of their fabric when faraway masters swallow up committed corporate citizens. If somebody buys 15 percent of the stock, a CEO can bail out and get the parting gifts. More simply, size just seems to matter. It's competitive positioning over the very long run.
Size tends to allow people to maintain competitiveness.
And as maturing U.S. markets hunger for continued growth, many companies simply run out of room to achieve it any way but through acquisitions, said Michael P. Thomas, a principal with consulting firm BBK of Southfield, Mich., which specializes in the auto industry. It's in the nature of business organizations to have the desire to grow. Now on the board of Northern Trust Corp., Smithburg said both Quaker and Northern were tagged as acquisition candidates 20 years ago. Northern has remained independent, though its stock price periodically jumps when takeover rumors crop up, while Quaker has not. A CEO's job is not to remain independent.