Companies sometimes issue bonds or preferred stock that give holders the option of converting them into common stock or of purchasing stock at favourable prices. Convertible bonds carry the option of conversion into common stock at a specified price during a particular period. Stock purchase warrants are given with bonds or preferred stock as an inducement to the investor, because they permit the purchase of the company’s common stock at a stated price at any time. Such option privileges make it easier for small companies to sell bonds or preferred stock. They help large companies to float new issues on more favourable terms than they could otherwise obtain. When bondholders exercise conversion rights, the company’s debt ratio is reduced because bonds are replaced by stock. The exercise of stock warrants, on the other hand, brings additional funds into the company but leaves the existing debt or preferred stock on the books. Option privileges also permit a company to sell new stock at more favourable prices than those prevailing at the time of issue, since the prices stated on the options are higher. Stock purchase warrants are most popular, therefore, at times when stock prices are expected to have an upward trend. (See also stock option.)

Companies often grow by combining with other companies. One company may purchase all or part of another; two companies may merge by exchanging shares; or a wholly new company may be formed through consolidation of the old companies. From the financial manager’s viewpoint, this kind of expansion is like any other investment decision; the acquisition should be made if it increases the acquiring firm’s net present value as reflected in the price of its stock.

The most important term that must be negotiated in a combination is the price the acquiring firm will pay for the assets it takes over. Present earnings, expected future earnings, and the effects of the merger on the rate of earnings growth of the surviving firm are perhaps the most important determinants of the price that will be paid. Current market prices are the second most important determinant of prices in mergers; depending on whether asset values are indicative of the earning power of the acquired firm, book values may exert an important influence on the terms of the merger. Other, nonmeasurable, factors are sometimes the overriding determinant in bringing companies together; synergistic effects (wherein the net result is greater than the combined value of the individual components) may be attractive enough to warrant paying a price that is higher than earnings and asset values would indicate.

The basic requirements for a successful merger are that it fit into a soundly conceived long-range plan and that the performance of the resulting firm be superior to those attainable by the previous companies independently. In the heady environment of a rising stock market, mergers have often been motivated by superficial financial aims. Companies with stock selling at a high price relative to earnings have found it advantageous to merge with companies having a lower price–earnings ratio; this enables them to increase their earnings per share and thus appeal to investors who purchase stock on the basis of earnings.

Some mergers, particularly those of conglomerates, which bring together firms in unrelated fields, owe their success to economies of management that developed throughout the 20th century. New strategies emphasized the importance of general managerial functions (planning, control, organization, and information management) and other top-level managerial tasks (research, finance, legal services, and technology). These changes reduced the costs of managing large, diversified firms and prompted an increase in mergers and acquisitions among corporations around the world.

When a merger occurs, one firm disappears. Alternatively, one firm may buy all (or a majority) of the voting stock of another and then run that company as an operating subsidiary. The acquiring firm is then called a holding company. There are several advantages in the holding company: it can control the acquired firm with a smaller investment than would be required in a merger; each firm remains a separate legal entity, and the obligations of one are separate from those of the other; and, finally, stockholder approval is not necessary—as it is in the case of a merger. There are also disadvantages to holding companies, including the possibility of multiple taxation and the danger that the high rate of leverage will amplify the earnings fluctuations (be they losses or gains) of the operating companies.

When a firm cannot operate profitably, the owners may seek to reorganize it. The first question to be answered is whether the firm might not be better off by ceasing to do business. If the decision is made that the firm is to survive, it must be put through the process of reorganization. Legal procedures are always costly, especially in the case of business failure; both the debtor and the creditors are frequently better off settling matters on an informal basis rather than through the courts. The informal procedures used in reorganization are (1) extension, which postpones the settlement of outstanding debt, and (2) composition, which reduces the amount owed.

If voluntary settlement through extension or composition is not possible, the matter must be taken to court. If the court decides on reorganization rather than liquidation, it appoints a trustee to control the firm and to prepare a formal plan of reorganization. The plan must meet standards of fairness and feasibility; the concept of fairness involves the appropriate distribution of proceeds to each claimant, while the test of feasibility relates to the ability of the new enterprise to carry the fixed charges resulting from the reorganization plan.

Comprehensive introductions to the theory of business finance include J. Fred Weston, Scott Besley, and Eugene F. Brigham, Essentials of Managerial Finance, 11th ed. (1996); J. Fred Weston and Thomas E. Copeland, Managerial Finance, 9th ed. (1992); James C. Van Horne, Financial Management and Policy, 12th ed. (2002); Robert W. Johnson and Ronald W. Melicher, Financial Management, 5th ed. (1982); J.R. Franks and J.E. Broyles, Modern Managerial Finance (1979); and J.M. Samuels, F.M. Wilkes, and R.F. Brayshaw, Management of Company Finance, 6th ed. (1995). Practical guides to balance-sheet analysis and finance for the layman are R. Vause and N. Woodward, Finance for Managers, 2nd ed. (1981); Eugene F. Brigham and Joel F. Houston, Fundamentals of Financial Management, 9th ed. (2000); and Gerald I. White, Ashwinpaul C. Sondhi, and Dov Fried, The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements, 2nd ed. (1998).